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The Report Of The President's Committee On Civil Rights

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Recommended: Racial discrimination in early 20th century

Mary Kwentus
Dr. Thomas
Honors American History
25 May 2023

“ The Report Of The President’s Committee On Civil Rights”

The 1940s was a period of significant change in America. In 1946, the President’s Committee on Civil Rights was created by President Harry S. Truman. Truman made the committee to research and investigate the many issues of racial discrimination and inequality in the United States. The investigation was completed in 1947, it found that African-Americans and other minority group’s political and civil rights were being violated. These minorities were being mistreated by the police, their right to vote was being threatened, and their education system was far poorer and more deprived …show more content…

The committee reported that many public officials failed to protect people of color. It was reported that “unpopular, weak, or defenseless groups are more apt to suffer”(Truman). These groups were more likely to be subject to police brutality. Police brutality is an example of African Americans’ constitutional rights being violated in the 1940s because it is the police's duty to help and serve every citizen equally no matter their race. A specific instance recorded in the report shows the police brutality towards an african american when “a constable arrested a Negro, against whom he bore a personal grudge, beat him brutally with a bullwhip and then forced his victim, in spite of his protestations of being unable to swim, to jump in a river where he drowned”(Truman). This specific account of police brutality shows the extent of unfair racial discrimination black Americans were facing in the 1940s. Although there are only a few accounts of police brutality represented in the Committee's report there are countless other acts of malicious discrimination by police during the …show more content…

Although the United States had made education for all citizens a major goal in the 1940s there was still large amounts of prejudice and discrimination in the school system. The report states that “We have failed to provide Negroes and, to a lesser extent, other minority group members with equality of educational opportunities in our public school institutions”(Truman). This quote shows another civil rights issue of certain Americans getting treated unfairly based on race because every American deserves the same amount of education. Discrimination in public schools is more prominent in the South where there are lower funds for public schools. The souths segregated school system directly discriminates against blacks. The segregated schools have a remarkable difference in the quality of education. It is reported that even the teachers at white schools made a larger salary than that of teachers at segregated schools. Overall the right to education in the 1940s was very racially discriminatory to African Americans and other

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