They lived deeply separate lives. They wrestled with what Brown v. Board of Education would mean for their communities. And although they were accustomed to a segregated society, many women in South Carolina—both black and white—knew that the unequal racial status quo in their state had to change.

Crossing the Line reveals the early activism of black women in organizations including the NAACP, the South Carolina Progressive Democratic Party, and the South Carolina Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. It also explores the involvement of white women in such groups as the YWCA and Church Women United. Their agendas often conflicted and their attempts at interracial activism were often futile, but these black and white women had the same goal: to improve black South Carolinians' access to political and educational institutions.

Examining the tumultuous years during and after World War II, Jones-Branch contends that these women are the unsung heroes of South Carolina's civil rights history. Their efforts to cross the racial divide in South Carolina helped set the groundwork for the broader civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.