Editing Interstate Commerce Commission (section)

==Racial integration of transport==
Although [[racial discrimination]] was never a major focus of its efforts, the ICC had to address [[civil rights]] issues when passengers filed complaints.

===History===
{{Main|Timeline of the civil rights movement}}

* April 28, 1941 - In ''Mitchell v. United States,'' the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled that discrimination in which a colored man who had paid a first class fare for an interstate journey was compelled to leave that car and ride in a second class car was essentially unjust, and violated the Interstate Commerce Act.<ref name="Mitchell">''Mitchell v. United States,'' {{Ussc|313|80|1941}}.</ref> The court thus overturns an ICC order dismissing a complaint against an interstate carrier.
*June 3, 1946 - In ''[[Irene Morgan|Morgan v. Virginia]],'' the Supreme Court invalidates provisions of the [[Virginia Code]] which require the separation of white and colored passengers where applied to interstate bus transport. The state law is unconstitutional insofar as it is burdening interstate commerce, an area of federal jurisdiction.<ref>''Morgan v. Virginia,'' {{Ussc|328|373|1946}}</ref>
* June 5, 1950 - In ''[[Henderson v. United States (1950)|Henderson v. United States]],'' the Supreme Court rules to abolish [[Racial segregation|segregation]] of reserved tables in railroad [[dining car]]s.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Henderson v. United States,'' {{Ussc|339|816|1950}}.</ref> The [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]] had reserved tables in such a way as to allocate one table conditionally for blacks and multiple tables for whites; a black passenger traveling first-class was not served in the dining car as the one reserved table was in use. The ICC ruled the discrimination to be an error in judgement on the part of an individual dining car steward; both the [[United States District Court for the District of Maryland]] and the Supreme Court disagreed, finding the published policies of the railroad itself to be in violation of the Interstate Commerce Act.
* September 1, 1953 - In ''[[Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company]],'' [[Women's Army Corps]] private Sarah Keys, represented by [[civil rights]] lawyer [[Dovey Johnson Roundtree]], becomes the first black person to challenge the "[[separate but equal]]" doctrine in bus segregation before the ICC. While the initial ICC reviewing commissioner declined to accept the case, claiming ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' (1954) "did not preclude segregation in a private business such as a bus company," Roundtree ultimately prevailed in obtaining a review by the full eleven-person commission.<ref>[http://www.womensmemorial.org/Education/BHMSys.html Challenging the System: Two Army Women Fight for Equality] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125055556/http://womensmemorial.org/Education/BHMSys.html |date=2009-01-25 }}, Judith Bellafaire Ph.D., Curator, Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation</ref>
* November 7, 1955 – ICC bans bus segregation in interstate travel in ''Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company.''<ref>''Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company,'' 64 MCC 769 (1955).</ref> This extends the logic of ''Brown v. Board of Education,'' a precedent ending the use of "separate but equal" as a defence against discrimination claims in education, to bus travel across state lines.
* December 5, 1960 - In ''[[Boynton v. Virginia]],'' the Supreme Court holds that racial segregation in [[Bus station|bus terminals]] is illegal because such segregation violates the Interstate Commerce Act.<ref>''Boynton v. Virginia,'' {{Ussc|364|454|1960}}.</ref> This ruling, in combination with the ICC's 1955 decision in ''Keys v. Carolina Coach,'' effectively outlaws segregation on interstate buses and at the terminals servicing such buses.
* September 23, 1961 - The ICC, at Attorney General [[Robert F. Kennedy]]'s insistence, issues new rules ending discrimination in interstate travel. Effective November 1, 1961, six years after the commission's own ruling in ''Keys v. Carolina Coach Company,'' all interstate buses required to display a certificate that reads: "Seating aboard this vehicle is without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin, by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission."