Final answer:
De jure segregation is the legal enforcement of racial segregation, where the Jim Crow laws were a central example, mandating separate and unequal facilities for African Americans and whites, upheld by Plessy v. Ferguson but ended by Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Step-by-step explanation:
Discrimination against a race using laws or policies is typically referred to as de jure segregation. This term specifically describes the legal enforcement of separation between races in various aspects of life, such as schools, public transportation, and other public accommodations. A notorious example of de jure segregation in the United States were the Jim Crow laws, which were prevalent especially in Southern states post-Civil War. These laws institutionalized racial segregation by mandating separate facilities for African Americans and whites, leading to generations of inequality and discrimination.
The benchmark for de jure segregation was set by the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case in 1896, which upheld the principle that 'separate but equal' facilities did not violate the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. This ruling effectively sanctioned legalized segregation until it was overturned by the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which declared that 'separate educational facilities are inherently unequal', signaling the beginning of the end for de jure segregation in the United States.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 further dismantled de jure segregation by outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, paving the way for integration and equal rights.