AHC: Have the concept of racial equality accepted within the USA sooner than in OTL

I know that this challenge has been posted before but with all the ACW themed posts that I have read lately I was hoping that opening this thread could create some newer ideas to be shared.

Now to give my own opinion I think that if advances in human psychology are made sooner than in OTL then the concept of individuals that belong to different races have practically the same mental capacity will be accepted sooner. I say this because from my understanding the main logic behind opinions of racial superiority is that people belong to certain races are thought to be more naturally adept at things such as intelligent thought, ethical behavior, physical strength, etc. If scientists in the 1800s due to a POD are somehow capable of understanding that the physical and mental capabilities of an individual cannot be predicted based upon their classified race alone, and they can get their work published and accepted as true, then perhaps the social equality for people of all races could advance sooner. Comments?
 
I know that this challenge has been posted before but with all the ACW themed posts that I have read lately I was hoping that opening this thread could create some newer ideas to be shared.

Now to give my own opinion I think that if advances in human psychology are made sooner than in OTL then the concept of individuals that belong to different races have practically the same mental capacity will be accepted sooner. I say this because from my understanding the main logic behind opinions of racial superiority is that people belong to certain races are thought to be more naturally adept at things such as intelligent thought, ethical behavior, physical strength, etc. If scientists in the 1800s due to a POD are somehow capable of understanding that the physical and mental capabilities of an individual cannot be predicted based upon their classified race alone, and they can get their work published and accepted as true, then perhaps the social equality for people of all races could advance sooner. Comments?

The problem is the general public has to acknowledge and accept that before it turns into policy. Most scientists believed that there were no great differences between races before the Civil Rights Movement, probably by the 1940s at the latest. It didn't get translated until decades later because the general public didn't accept that.
 
I know that this challenge has been posted before but with all the ACW themed posts that I have read lately I was hoping that opening this thread could create some newer ideas to be shared.

Now to give my own opinion I think that if advances in human psychology are made sooner than in OTL then the concept of individuals that belong to different races have practically the same mental capacity will be accepted sooner. I say this because from my understanding the main logic behind opinions of racial superiority is that people belong to certain races are thought to be more naturally adept at things such as intelligent thought, ethical behavior, physical strength, etc. If scientists in the 1800s due to a POD are somehow capable of understanding that the physical and mental capabilities of an individual cannot be predicted based upon their classified race alone, and they can get their work published and accepted as true, then perhaps the social equality for people of all races could advance sooner. Comments?

Science is almost irrelevant here, really. OTL science has demonstrated lots of things that the public won't accept. (Sigh!)

No, as Johnrankins says, it's a matter of getting the public to accept it.

I suspect that if integration had been forced in the US military during either of the world wars, a lot of white guys would have come home saying 'sure, blacks ain't as good as white folk, but Jeremiah, he was the best buddy a soldier could have', and get people thinking that at least SOME black folk were worth counting as 'people' or 'just folks' or whatever term they might use.

Once you get that crack open, I think movement might happen reasonably quickly.
 
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