Desegregation in the United States in the context of "Jimmy Carter"

In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the Tenth Amendment. The enumerated powers that are listed in the Constitution include exclusive federal powers, as well as concurrent powers that are shared with the states, and all of those powers are contrasted with the reserved powers—also called states' rights—that only the states possess. Since the 1940s, the term "states' rights" has often been considered a loaded term, a euphemism, or a dog whistle because of its use in opposition to federally-mandated racial desegregation and, more recently, same-sex marriage and reproductive rights.

Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination, which most commonly affected African Americans.

A Black church leader, King participated in and led marches for the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other civil rights. He oversaw the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he led the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King was one of the leaders of the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and helped organize two of the three Selma to Montgomery marches during the 1965 Selma voting rights movement. There were dramatic standoffs with segregationist authorities, who often responded violently. The civil rights movement achieved pivotal legislative gains in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

In United States constitutional theory, compact theory is an interpretation of the Constitution which asserts the United States was formed through a compact agreed upon by all the states, and that the federal government is thus a creation of the states. Consequently, under the theory, states are the final arbiters over whether the federal government has overstepped the limits of its authority as set forth in the compact. Compact theory contrasts with contract theory, which holds that the United States was formed with the consent of the people—rather than the consent of the states—and thus the federal government has supreme jurisdiction over the states. Compact theory has never been upheld by the courts.

Compact theory featured heavily in arguments by southern political leaders in the run up to the American Civil War that states had a right to nullify federal law and to secede from the union. It also featured in southern arguments opposing desegregation after the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The theory also entered into the Mexico–United States border crisis of the early 2020s.

In the United States, school integration (also known as desegregation) is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public, and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and remains an issue in contemporary education. During the civil rights movement school integration became a priority, but since then de facto segregation has again become prevalent.

School segregation declined rapidly during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Segregation appears to have increased since 1990. The disparity in the average poverty rate in the schools whites attend and blacks attend is the single most important factor in the educational achievement gap between white and black students.

The Albany Movement was a desegregation and voters' rights coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, in November 1961. This movement was founded by local black leaders and ministers, as well as members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The groups were assisted by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). It was meant to draw attention to the brutally enforced racial segregation practices in Southwest Georgia. However, many leaders in SNCC were fundamentally opposed to King and the SCLC's involvement. They felt that a more democratic approach aimed at long-term solutions was preferable for the area other than King's tendency towards short-term, authoritatively-run organizing.

Although the Albany Movement is deemed by some as a failure due to its unsuccessful attempt at desegregating public spaces in Southwest Georgia, those most directly involved in the movement tend to disagree. People involved in this movement labeled it as a beneficial lesson in strategy and tactics for the leaders of the civil rights movement and a key component to the movement's future successes in desegregation and policy changes in other areas of the Deep South.

George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician and lawyer who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the longest-serving governor from the Democratic Party. Wallace is remembered for his staunch segregationist and populist views, although in the late 1970s he moderated his views on race, renouncing his support for segregation. During Wallace's tenure as governor of Alabama, he promoted "industrial development, low taxes, and trade schools." Wallace unsuccessfully sought the United States presidency as a Democrat three times, and once with the American Independent Party, in which he carried five states in the 1968 presidential election. Wallace opposed desegregation and supported the policies of "Jim Crow" during the Civil Rights Movement, declaring in his 1963 inaugural address that he stood for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever."

Born in Clio, Alabama, Wallace attended the University of Alabama School of Law, and served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II. After the war, he won election to the Alabama House of Representatives, and served as a state judge. Wallace first sought the Democratic nomination in the 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election. Initially a moderate on racial issues, Wallace adopted a hard-line segregationist stance after losing the 1958 nomination. Wallace ran for governor again in 1962, and won the race. Seeking to stop the racial integration of the University of Alabama, Wallace earned national notoriety by standing in front of the entrance of the University of Alabama, blocking the path of Black students. Wallace left office when his first term expired in 1967 due to term limits. His wife, Lurleen, won the next election and succeeded him, with him as the de facto governor. Wallace's period of influence ended when Lurleen died of cancer in May 1968; her doctor informed Wallace of the cancer's diagnosis in 1961, but he had not told her.

American singer Michael Jackson is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Often considered the greatest entertainer of all time, Jackson broke racial barriers in the United States and profoundly influenced the evolution of pop music, earning him the title of "King of Pop". He is one of the best-selling music artists in history, having sold over 500 million records worldwide. His unparalleled success spans multiple decades, with numerous albums that rank amongst the best-selling of all time, such as Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - BOOK I (1995); Thriller remains the best-selling album in history. Guinness World Records named him the most successful entertainer of all time. His achievements in the 1980s helped desegregation of popular music in the United States and introduced an era of multiculturalism globally. Through his dance, fashion and redefinition of music videos, Jackson proliferated visual performance for musical artists. Credited for influencing hundreds of musicians, his songs are among the most covered and sampled in music history. His influence extended to inspiring a vast array of trends and raising awareness for social causes around the world; as a result, Jackson is widely regarded as one of the most famous figures in history. Before he died, Jackson was received by over 30 world leaders. Jackson's global brand resulted in celebrity products and commemorations such as video games, documentaries, and monuments.

Popularity of Michael Jackson began as a child star in the 1960s, his introduction as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band formed with his older brothers. The group was recognized by U.S. Congress for their contribution to American youth culture, and Jackson was embraced by the American public to a degree not afforded a child star since the height of Shirley Temple in the 1930s. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular culture and the first African-American entertainer to have a strong crossover fanbase on music television. As he became a rising solo star, his music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" from his album Thriller (1982), are credited with breaking several racial barriers both in the United States and worldwide, transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Prior to Thriller, timely layoffs were occurring for radio and music record companies, who both suffered during a four year unemployment high between 1978 and 1982 due to the early 1980s recession. Jackson's world record sales and achievements are credited with revolutionizing the music industry by initiating marketing plans on blockbuster albums with an emphasis on video presentation focus going forward.