Charles Hamilton Houston knew it was time for a change. Segregation was in full effect, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that Black people – our people – were suffering from substandard conditions in every aspect of life! And why?
Jim Crow! These local and state laws essentially legalized anti-Black racism. Houston was a lawyer, and he knew exactly what was needed to get rid of these laws once and for all. He literally wanted to KILL Jim Crow. But how?
Houston started working with the NAACP to challenge local Jim Crow laws. Winning lots of small cases would set precedents to win larger cases, and soon the entire racist system would come crashing down. Jim Crow was a huge system – so where would he begin?
Houston set his plan into action by starting with education. He filed lawsuits that pointed out there were no Black schools “separate but equal” to white facilities! Did his plan work?
It did! His work effectively “killed” Jim Crow, and it set the stage for cases such as Brown v Board of Education. Thurgood Marshall, one of his students, continued Houston’s work, ensuring justice for our people as a Supreme Court justice.
We must always challenge those policies and laws that oppress and discount our rights!