President's Committee on Civil Rights facts for kids

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President's Committee on Civil Rights

History
Established by	Harry Truman on December 5, 1946
Disbanded	December 1947
Related Executive Order number(s)	9808, 9980, 9981
Membership
Chairperson	Charles Edward Wilson
Other committee members	Sadie T. Alexander James B. Carey John Sloan Dickey Morris Ernst Roland B. Gittelsohn Frank Porter Graham Francis J. Haas Charles Luckman Francis P. Matthews Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. Henry Knox Sherrill Boris Shishkin Dorothy Rogers Tilly Channing Heggie Tobias
Jurisdiction
Purpose	Investigate the status of civil rights in the country and propose measures to strengthen and protect them
Policy areas	Civil rights
Summary
Establish a permanent Civil Rights Commission, Joint Congressional Committee on Civil Rights, and a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice Develop federal protection from lynching Establish a permanent fair employment practice commission Abolish poll taxes Other measures

The President's Committee on Civil Rights was a special group created by President Harry Truman in 1946. This committee was formed to look into the state of civil rights in the United States. Its main goal was to suggest ways to make these rights stronger and protect them better for everyone.

The committee included important people from business, labor unions, religious groups, and universities. They worked together to study how civil rights were being upheld across the country.

Understanding the Committee's Purpose

The President's Committee on Civil Rights was asked to do three main things:

• Examine the condition of civil rights in the United States.
• Write a detailed report about what they found.
• Suggest ways to improve civil rights for all Americans.

In December 1947, the committee finished its 178-page report. It was called To Secure These Rights: The Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights.

Key Recommendations for Civil Rights

The report made several important suggestions to improve civil rights:

• Create a permanent Civil Rights Commission.
• Form a special committee in Congress for civil rights.
• Set up a Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice.
• Develop federal laws to protect people from lynching, which was a form of violence against minority groups.
• Establish a permanent commission to ensure fair employment practices.
• End poll taxes, which were fees people had to pay to vote, often used to stop African Americans from voting.

The report also suggested that the UN Charter from 1945 could be used to fight racial discrimination in the U.S.

President Truman's Actions

President Truman took action based on the committee's report. On July 26, 1948, he signed two important orders:

• Executive Order 9980: This order ended segregation in the federal government's workplaces. Segregation meant keeping people of different races separate.
• Executive Order 9981: This order ended segregation in the armed services. This meant people of all races could serve together.

President Truman also asked Congress to pass laws based on the committee's recommendations in February 1948.

Impact on Diplomacy

The committee's report also helped open doors for African-American diplomats. For example, Edward R. Dudley became the first African American to serve as an ambassador under President Truman. This was partly because the committee's findings showed how racial issues in the U.S. were harming its relationships with other countries. Even with these findings, President Truman faced challenges in making changes due to strong opposition within the country.

Committee Members

The committee had 15 members who worked on the report:

Publications

• President's Committee on Civil Rights. To Secure These Rights: The Report of the President's Committee on Civil Rights. Washington: GPO, 1947.

See Also

• Executive Order 8802, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, which aimed to stop discrimination in the defense industry.
• National Emergency Committee Against Mob Violence