desegregate

[dee-seg-ri-geyt]

verb (used with object)

desegregated, desegregating 

1. to eliminate racial segregation in.

   to desegregate all schools.

verb (used without object)

desegregated, desegregating 

1. to eliminate racial segregation; to integrate at an institutional level members of different communities without regard to skin color.

desegregate

/ diːˈsɛɡrɪˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. to end racial segregation in (a school or other public institution)

Other Word Forms

• desegregationist noun
• desegregation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of desegregate¹

First recorded in 1950–55; de- + segregate

Example Sentences

The sit-ins to desegregate restaurants and cafeterias that were now taking place across the South had originated in Greensboro.

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The Insurrection Act was Abraham Lincoln’s sword against secessionists and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s shield around the Little Rock Nine, the young Black students who were the first to desegregate schools in Arkansas.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When Southern governors refused to desegregate schools during Jim Crow is now widely understood as one of the most shameful periods in our history.

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Board of Education when Southern governors refused to desegregate schools and President Eisenhower, who didn't love the Brown v.

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American politics was ablaze following the Supreme Court's decision to desegregate schools.

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Related Words

• integrate