Workplace discrimination was rampant during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Despite some advances it remains an issue for people of color. A Supreme Court ruling, argued by the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund in 1971, is one of the legal actions that helped alleviate workplace racism.
In the town of Draper, N.C., the Duke Power Company’s Dan River Steam Station employed white and Black workers from the area. The case against Duke Power developed when it was learned that Blacks were relegated to menial labor jobs while white workers enjoyed higher paying skilled jobs. This disparity in payment and opportunity was addressed after the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.