District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. Inc., 346 U.S. 100 (1953), is a United States Supreme Court case which began on April 30, 1953 over the validity of the local Washington Acts of 1872 and 1873.

On June 8, 1953, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the segregating policies practiced by Thompson's Cafeteria were illegal, marking a huge victory for the national black community.

Thanks to research by Howard University Law School Librarian Mercer Daniel,[2] lawyers from the D.C. Lawyers Guild such as Charles Hamilton Houston, Joseph Forer, and David Rein[3] were able to notify Terrell that a number of laws from the Reconstruction Era that outlawed segregation, while not enforced, had technically never been repealed.

Consequently, on January 27, 1950, Terrell and a small group of friends walked through the doors of Thompson's diner and requested a table.

After the manager promptly refused to serve them, the Coordinating Committee thrust the issue of segregated eating establishments onto the legal and social stage of the nation's capital.

Given its long list of civil rights all-stars including Walter E. Washington, William Hastie, Robert C. Weaver, and Annie Stein,[4] the Coordinating Committee obtained media attention and put pressure on local officials.

The Board of Trade, a notoriously-white elitist group that actively lobbied for Congress to uphold segregation, came to the legal aid of the restaurant.

In addition, the Supreme Court reinforced that only Congress had "the power to pass laws which would alter or repeal the Acts of the Legislative Assembly.

Finally, the Supreme Court also touched on the controversy over the Code of 1901, which gave the local, Washington government more autonomy.