Minutes of Commission Meetings

Minutes of regular and special commission meetings concern racial conditions in Illinois communities, especially in schools or African American neighborshoods, and discrimination experienced by other minority groups. School issues appear prominently in commission minutes and include segregation patterns of school districts, lack of participation by African American schools in state tournaments, implementation of a state law that authorized the teaching of African American history in public schools, legislative amendments to strengthen laws that forbade discrimination in public schools. Other discussions in the minutes include those about the Governor's 1949 order banning racial segregation in the Illinois National Guard, investigations by the Broyles Commission, U.S. Supreme Court cases dealing with racism, urban riots, and racial problems during World War II. 

The October 15, 1953 meeting file includes a transcript of one of the appelate briefs used in the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. The May 20, 1954 meeting gives passing mention to the Court's decision striking down school segregation issued three days prior.

The September 22, 1955 meeting minutes reference the murder of Emmett Till near Money, Mississippi on August 28, 1955.