In 1954, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case was a step forward in promoting justice in America. The Supreme Court Justices anonymously voted nine to zero ruling that segregation of public schools was a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The court decided that separate but equal was constitutional. The constitutional issue in this case was the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law. Public schools could no longer be separated by race. African American children received the right to attend public

In 1957, a handful of black children requested to enter an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The governor of Arkansas ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block the school entrance so the black children could not enter, after a federal court ordered local and state authorities to protect the rights of the students to integrate the school. The governor and others provoked angry whites, which in return threatened the safety of the black children when they entered the school. President Eisenhower finally realized it was time to intervene in the situation in Arkansas. The mob violence became too great and he had to restore the image of America which everyone is free and has equal rights. He then decided to send in the Arkansas National Guard. He ordered them to protect the safety of the African American children as they entered the school.1 The President has the power to order in the National Guard because he is Commander and Chief of the U.S. Army. This was a bigger and more successful step in the Civil Rights Movement. These brave black students paved the way for future black students who wanted to attend public schools. If it had not have been for the Little Rock Nine, segregated schools might still appear today.

The March on Washington in 1963 made quite possibly the biggest strides of all actions in the movement. It opened the eyes of America and made the injustice that African-Americans were being put through. The March was to demand equal rights legislation in congress. Blacks wanted immediate elimination of racial segregation in public schools throughout the nation. African-Americans needed protection for civil-rights demonstrations everywhere against police brutality. They were postulating a program of public works to provide jobs for the unemployed people of the United States. They demanded a federal law banning racial discrimination in the higher of workers either in public or private sectors of business. They were also marching for a two dollar an hour minimum wage and self government in D.C. where they made up fifty-seven percent of the population.3 The March came about when President Kennedy proposed a new civil rights bill.4 Civil rights group then organized a March on Washington to show their support for the bill. The March was sponsored by the NAACP, CORE, SCLC, Urban League, SNCC, and the Negro American Labor Committee.3 They expected a crowd of 100,000, but saw over 250,000 people from all over the country pour into Washington D.C. on more than thirty special trains and 2,000 chartered buses on August 28,1963.3 The March was filled with speeches, songs, and many other things by way of entertainment. The March heard one of the most prolific speeches of all time. That speech was given by a one Martin Luther King, Jr. it was known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. The March was a huge success. The Marches principle of non-violence was upheld, and the event received a lot of media coverage. Kennedy’s bill was eventually passed a year later.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 stopped unequal voter registration requirements, but did not end literacy tests which often disqualified blacks in voting. The bill also outlawed discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce, except in private clubs. Title III of the bill encouraged desegregation of public schools and authorized the

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