Introduction

In the early 1900s, state after state and community after community passed laws that separated black and white Americans in almost every aspect of life--including education. 

 Waterfountains. North Carolina, 1950. Elliot Erwitt/Magnum Photos.  Man entering movie theater by "colored" entrance. Belzoni, Mississippi, October 1939. Marion Post Wolcott, photographer.

On May 17th, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for black and white children were not and could never be equal. With this ruling, school officials in many cities made plans to integrate.

 Acipco Elementary School in Birmingham, Alabama, late 1930s. Courtesy Birmingham Public Library Archives.  Graymont Elementary School in Birmingham, Alabama, late 1930s. Courtesy Birmingham Public Library Archives.

In September 1957, Elizabeth Eckford and eight other black students prepared to enroll at the previously all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 "The Little Rock Nine:" Nine African American students in Little Rock, Arkansas, prepare for their first day of school at Central High School.