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BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION |
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May 17, 1954 in the case Brown v. Board of Education the United States Supreme Court ruled segregation of American public schools unconstitutional.
Due to the extent and intensity of state segregation laws across the nation, the court issued a second part of the original decision a year later called "Brown II." This served as a federal retaliation to the widespread resistance to desegregation "which ordered school districts to integrate with all deliberate speed." For the centuries of extreme racism, prejudice, and discrimination that occurred within sociopolitical and economic contexts, it was a pivotal moment to finally receive federal agency to both: 1) support the end of injustices towards African Americans, 2) and push to re-creating environments that accept black prosperity. |
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WHO WERE THE LITTLE ROCK NINE? |
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September 1957, Little Rock Central High School became one of the first public schools to desegregate. Daisy Gatson Bates, President of the Arkansas NAACP and head of an Arkansas African American newspaper recruited nine black students (right) who she felt were apt enough to face the racial tensions of the newly integrated school. As a part of their preparation, the students underwent weeks of intense training and counseling sessions to prepare them best for the "hostile situations" yet to come.
On the first day of classes the governor of Arkansas called in their state National Guard to deny the entry of the black students into the school. However, Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the students on campus just a month later. As a result of their bravery, this famous group became known as the Little Rock Nine. |