Little Rock Nine:
With the court case of Brown vs the Board of Education, segregation in schools was made illegal. However, it took 3 years for the new law to be enacted and for integration to start. In Little Rock, Arkansas, one high school in particular hadn't begun integration. Nine high school students took the challenge to enroll in the high school, which was perfectly legal. They faced lots of opposition, such as protests and Orval Faubus, the governor, using the Arkansas National Guard to block the 9 from entering the school. News of the even spread and Eisenhower, though he wasn't big on civil rights, sent troops to the school to guard the nine black students as they attended school. this was the first time since 1870 that US troops had been sent to the south. for an entire year, the troops guarded the nine students. People constantly opposed and protested against the students, and it was all over the news and radio. They all graduated high school, and in 1998 they each received a congressional medal of honor. Sit-Ins:
Sit-ins were a peaceful form of protesting. Many businesses, typically restaurants or cafes, illegally segregated blacks and whites. A sit-in was when a couple blacks would go into one of the businesses and ask to be served. Often times they would be kicked out, and sometimes even arrested. The protestors were ready for that though. As soon as the group got kicked out, a new group was ready to go in and take their spots. This would continue on and on, and even sometimes customers would disrupt the protest by pouring and spilling thongs on the protestors. This also included many white protestors who wanted to help. |