In September 1957 9 African American students won the right to enrol at Little Rock Central High school. They won this right through the Federal Court. National guards were called in to protect these students from an angry mob that blocked the entry into the school. The students continued to attend the school despite the school board being bombed as well as homes of those who supported the
The story is often told with that being the day when the black people of Montgomery, Alabama, democratically decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded. What many people do not know is that day was not the day that the movement to desegregate the buses started. Of all the people who played a role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks is the most known. The simple story we are taught in elementary school leaves out many significant people such as Jo Ann Robinson, who absentmindedly sat in the front of an empty bus only to be sent off in tears from the bus driver yelling at her. After Jo’s traumatic experience on the bus in 1945 she tried to start a protest but was turned down when the other woman of the Woman’s Political Council brushed off the incident as “a fact of life in Montgomery.” (Cozzens, 1997) About nine years later, after the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, Jo wrote a letter to W.A.
They ruled that Blacks had separate but equal facilities as Whites. The Brown vs. The Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas in 1954 ruled that Negroes must be allowed to attend the same schools as the Whites. In 1950, eight year old Linda Brown attended Monroe Elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. Oliver Brown – Linda’s father - complained to the school and the district court that her daughter was not receiving the same educational rights and facilities when compared to white students.
Many groups have struggled for change and equality from the 1940s to the 1960s. African Americans were one of the many groups to have struggled for change and equality. The march on Washington was one of the several battles against racial discrimination to have taken place during these times. Prior to World War II, 75 percent of defense contractors refused to hire African Americans, and another 15 percent employed them only in menial jobs. In response to such discrimination, A. Philip Randolph, president and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, planned a march on Washington where he called on African Americans to come to capital on July 1, 1941.
Brown versus Board Of Education In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Linda Brown who was denied admission to her local Elementary school because she was black. Linda Brown, an African American third grader, who lived in Topeka Kansas, had to walk one mile, through a railroad switch yard to get to her black school. Her father tried to get her into a white school, which was only seven blocks away, but the principle of the school refused to allow her to enroll.
They filed the suit hoping that the school district would change its policy of racial segregation. When 20 parents tried to enroll their kids in the schools closest to them, they were denied enrollment. These schools were segregated and were the same as the ones black kids were supposed to attend. Since they were not allowed enrollment, the case was taken to the Topeka Board of Education. They decided that they should attend their own schools because they were exactly the same when it came to the facility, treatment, and staff.
The arrest of Rosa Parks has acted as the trigger as the African-Americans’ community felt it couldn’t handle racism anymore. It is true that maybe she was seen by the NAACP as a safer test case, but it wasn’t just that. A few weeks before another woman’s babies fell off the seats that supposedly were for white people as the driver hit the accelerator. After Parks’ arrest, the NAACP, the Black Alabama State College, the Women’s Political Council, and eventually the church, all clubbed together. This proves that this incident has hugely mobilised the people, which is arguably the most important success.
She gladly put her career aside to protest war. Although she protested in non-violent ways, she would find herself getting arrested. She’d write about it, saying she was arrested for interrupting peace when she was trying to interrupt war. “All through 1968 and 1969, the anti-war movement grew. By the end of 1969, 34,000 men had refused induction (Hedda 74).” Baez’s actions in protests had influenced the lives of many.
At the time of his speech African Americans were not free, while the Declaration of Independence stated that all men are created equal. Dr. King’s vision of social health established that there is an American dream and it is achievable no matter what race, and the idea that somebody can be anything they want to be. King also points out that all men deserved life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The documents of the “Declaration of Independence” did not recognize blacks and women for 100 years prior to being signed by Abraham Lincoln . These documents were filled with broken promises and were a waste of paper, because it included rights that did not apply to every human being.
Actually, her parents did not want her to march. White bosses told her dad, and many others. “If we find out you of your children are out there protesting, you’ll get fired”, (Marching to Montgomery and Beyond). Jefferson is currently a law school teacher. She often mentions Jim Crow laws and life before integration in her lessons, to remind students of how much times have changed (Marching to Montgomery and