Civil Rights—The Supreme Court\u27s Terrible Swift Sword: The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction of Private Schools—Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160 (1976)

Plaintiffs, black children, were denied admission to defendants\u27 private schools solely on the basis of race. The children\u27s parents had made applications for admission in response to brochures mailed to resident and advertisements directed to the general public. Alleging that defendants had violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981 by denying plaintiffs the same right to enter into contracts that was enjoyed by white applicants, plaintiffs filed a class action suit in federal district court. The district court enjoined defendants and intervenor Southern Independent School Association from further racial discrimination in their admission practices. A divided Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the injunction. The Supreme Court affirmed in a 7-2 decision. Held: Because section 1981 reaches private acts of discrimination, it provides a remedy against a commercially operated, nonsectarian, privately owned school\u27s denial of admission solely on the basis of race. Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160 (1976)