Evans v. Newton - Significance

The ruling opened a number of seemingly private activities to scrutiny regarding their adherence to the equal protection requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment. Following the Court's decision in this case, the operation of private establishments within public buildings was considered a public activity, and as such was required to adhere to constitutional requirements.

The decade of the 1960s was a time of great social and political upheaval. Popular causes, such as the women's movement and the crusade against American participation in the conflict in Vietnam, emerged and gained nearly unprecedented political momentum. The most significant movement among the political causes of the decade, however, was the Civil Rights movement. The 1960s saw the end of segregation in the southern United States, and a serious attempt to address issues of racial discrimination in the desegregated North. Throughout the decade, the Supreme Court showed its sympathy for the causes of desegregation and racial equity, consistently interpreting the Constitution in such a way as to create a more just society. From a contemporary perspective it is difficult to believe the level of resistance that certain racial equity measures encountered only a short time ago.