The U.S. Supreme Court case Evans et al. v. Newton et al., 1965, revolved around a public park in Macon, Georgia that was bequeathed by United States Senator Augustus Bacon for the exclusive use of white people. After his death, the city managed and maintained the park until it was deemed unconstitutional to do so due to racial segregation laws in 1963. The trustees then attempted to operate it as a private entity but were met with resistance from African American citizens who wanted access to this public amenity. The court ruled that despite being privately owned, if an institution is open to the general public and serves broad community functions or purposes (like a park), it becomes entwined with governmental authority and thus must adhere to constitutional standards such as equal protection under law regardless of race or color. Therefore, even though Senator Bacon's will specified that only white people could use the park; because its function served more like a municipal facility than strictly private property after his death - especially when operated by city officials - racial discrimination became constitutionally impermissible.

In the dissenting opinion for Evans v. Newton, Justice Black argued that the majority's decision to convert a private park into a public one was an overreach of judicial power. He contended that this action violated principles of federalism by interfering with Georgia's state laws and property rights without sufficient constitutional justification. According to him, there was no evidence suggesting that Macon city officials had coerced or influenced Senator Bacon in his decision to leave his estate as a segregated park after his death; therefore, it should remain private under state law. Furthermore, he believed that if racial discrimination were present in such cases where private individuals choose how their property is used after they die, then it would be more appropriate for Congress rather than courts to intervene through legislation.