Volume I of this study examines civil rights doctrine as it developed in the United States Supreme Court. I conclude that most historians and law scholars have been incorrect in their assessment of the civil rights record of the Supreme Court; especially the Warren Court. My research indicates that great advances were made in civil rights doctrine long before the advent of the Warren Court. Volume II of this study examines all civil rights cases filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. This volume is intended to convey an impression of what a civil rights law suit actually looked like and how a trial court processed these cases from 1950-1974. I found that most of the federal judges were hostile towards the civil rights claims.