The 1940s and 1950s were decades of far-reaching change and mobilization in the United States. White culture strove to make nonwhites invisible with segregation and discrimination as Southern blacks continued the Great Migration north and the government brought in Mexican labor via the Bracero Program to take up labor slack while U.S. troops were overseas. The rise of the civil rights movement and Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down segregation in schools 1954, were some results. This volume is THE content-rich source in a desirable decade-by-decade organization to help students and general readers understand the crucial race relations of the war years into the Cold War. Race Relations in the United States, 1940-1960 provides comprehensive reference coverage of the key events, influential voices, race relations by group, legislation, media influences, cultural output, and theories of inter-group interactions.

The volume covers two decades with a standard format coverage per decade, including Timeline, Overview, Key Events, Voices of the Decade, Race Relations by Group, Law and Government, Media and Mass Communications, Cultural Scene, Influential Theories and Views of Race Relations, Resource Guide. This format allows comparison of topics through the decades. The bulk of the coverage is topical essays, written in a clear, encyclopedic style. Historical photos, a selected bibliography, and index complement the text.