The end of World War II was imminent by July of 1945 when 80-year-old progressive educator Flora Cooke of Chicago criticized Senator Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi for filibustering a bill that provided oversight in the government's awarding of military contracts and in its hiring practices. He interpreted the bill as a threat to the South's continuing to practice discrimination against African Americans. Bilbo answered Cooke's criticism with harsh comments and drew more response from her. This research illuminates their clash. Cooke's exchange with Bilbo offers a rare case study of a progressive educator who challenged the assumptions of a white supremacist senator and thus advanced progressive precepts into race issues where they had been lacking.