Since the 1960s, contracts with the federal government have explicitly banned racially-segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and other facilities. This provision has been removed from such contracts, reports NPR. It remains illegal under federal and state law to provide racially-segregated public accomodations; the Trump administration is making its priorities clear.
"It's symbolic, but it's incredibly meaningful in its symbolism," says Melissa Murray, a constitutional law professor at New York University. "These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government's efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.
The change is stated explicitly:
A recent notice from the National Institutes of Health shows that the change is already in effect. The notice, regarding a maintenance agreement for scientific freeze dryers, cites the GSA memo and reads, "FAR 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities and FAR 52.222-26 — Equal Opportunity will not be considered when making award decisions or enforce requirements."
Make America Great Again was always about this kind of thing, "repealing the 1960s." Liberal actuallying around this will presumably center on "they're only targeting gay and transgender people," but how much would you bet on the Civil Rights Act surviving a run-in with the current U.S. Supreme Court?
Previously:
• When some Christians were pro-choice and pro-segregation
• Segregated headstones reach over the cemetery wall
• Americans still being killed by racial segregation
