Final answer:
The reforms were instituted by local southern governments during the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War. These included establishing public school systems and implementing equitable taxation. However, discriminatory practices against African Americans persisted despite these legal advances.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reforms mentioned were instituted by the local southern governments during the period known as Reconstruction, which followed the American Civil War. Reconstruction governments established the South's first state-funded public school system as well as implemented a more equitable taxation system. They also made efforts to prohibit racial discrimination in public transportation and accommodations.
However, the end of the Reconstruction era saw the rise of discriminatory practices, such as Jim Crow laws and practices of segregation that systematically undermined the rights of African Americans. Despite the legal prohibitions against racial discrimination, in practice it didn't significantly improve conditions for African Americans due to hostile attitudes and violence from White Americans.
It was only after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954 that segregation in public schools was declared unconstitutional. However, while this ruling nominally ended segregation, in practice many states resisted integration, some even closing public schools to avoid it.
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