Racial Integrity Act of 1924

The Racial Integrity Laws were drafted in the South as a means to preserve the white race and its purity and protect it from racial mixtures. The law operated by way of birth and death certificates. Integrity was focused on classification. What race or color and individual had on his birth certificate determined his legal status in the United States. Even if an individual had only the slightest trace of "negro" or Native American blood, he was considered "negro." To learn more (and to read about the Racial Integrity Act of 1924), visit the Encyclopedia of Virginia here.