in 1954, there was a young girl's named linda brown
... and she had to walk a very long way to a school only for african american children
linda and her parents, leola and oliver brown, walked through the town, 7 blocks every day, just to get to school, even though there was a school only 4 blocks away
the nearest school to the browns' house was an all white, segregated school
but oliver and leola brown still believed their child should be allowed to enroll in the school despite her race
"what do you mean our daughter cannot enroll at your school? why not?"
i'm sorry mr. and mrs. brown, but this is an all white school. your daughter cannot attend.
*gulp*
why should my daughter have to walk farther because of the color of her skin?
later that night at home...
with the help of the naacp and their lawyer, thurgood marshall...
the browns filed a law suit against the topeka board of education...
and in spring of 1954, it made it to the US supreme court
on may 17th, 1954, the landmark decision that segregation was unconstitutional was announced by chief justice warren
"Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group...Any language in contrary to this finding is rejected. We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
and so, linda was able to attend the previously all white school
but still, even with this landmark decision by the supreme court, desegregation would prove to be a challenge, with the racism of the south rearing its ugly head in the desegregation of central high school in little rock, arkansas
welcome to little rock, arkansas1957
the little rock nine: six girls, three boys, all african american high schoolers
when the students arrived at central high school, they were met with an angry mob
go away!
to combat the violence, president eisenhower ordered the US 101st division airborne troops to escort the little rock nine to school
despite military interference...
the mob continued their violence and hatred
and at the end of the year...
ernest green, the only senior in the group, became the first african american graduate of central high school
...but the little rock nine continued to go to school.
...the mob persisted...
now presenting the class of 1955!
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