Civil Rights and the Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas

Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

The Brown case and the follow up case, Brown v. the Board of Education II, provided support to civil rights advocates. Brown II ordered local schools to proceed with integration with "all deliberate speed." It followed up with lower court orders to integrate local schools including Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the University of Mississippi.

The reaction to integration in Little Rock and the effect on the students are shown in the following video. How would you have reacted if you had been one of the black students attending Central High School?