Education is one of the most powerful tools you can have. So it’s no secret that in the history of the United States, there was a time when African-Americans were held back from educational opportunities because of the color of their skin. During slavery, slaves were killed because they knew how to read. After the Emancipation Proclamation (and Juneteenth), Jim Crow laws and Segregation was rampant all across the country, especially in the south.
But starting in 1951 until the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Brown vs. Board of Education case in Topeka, Kansas, things started to change. The Brown vs. Board ruling ended Segregation in schools but the fight was just beginning.
Angry mobs and even Politicians tried as much as possible, even blocking doors to keep Blacks from entering schools that were once all-white. Because of the dangers of integration, committees were formed to fight back. All in the name of education and bettering ourselves.
Below you can find some of the landmark education cases in our nation’s history.
1. Landmark Education Cases: Brown Vs. Board Of Education
Source: Urban One
In the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., the Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
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3. Landmark Education Cases: Little Rock Nine
Source: Urban One
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends federal troops to ensure integration of the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. The Little Rock Nine were the first black students to attend the school.
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5. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Source: Urban One
Black and white students form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), dedicated to working against segregation and discrimination.
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7. Landmark Education Cases: James Meredith
Source: Urban One
James Meredith is the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi; on the day he enters the university, he is escorted by U.S. marshals.
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9. Landmark Education Cases: First African-American students at University of Alabama
Source: Getty
Despite Governor George Wallace physically blocking their way, Vivian Malone and James Hood register for classes at the University of Alabama.
