Honoring the legacy and impact of America's civil rights movement.

Brown v. Board of Education

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The case consolidated several lawsuits challenging segregation in schools. The lead plaintiff was Oliver Brown, who sued the Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education on behalf of his daughter. NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall argued the case. The Court unanimously ruled segregation in public education as unconstitutional.

Ernest Green of the Little Rock Nine

Ernest Green, one of the Little Rock Nine, shares his personal story of integrating Little Rock Central High School in 1957. He recalls the struggle within the school, "That year was kind of like going to war ... by the middle of the year, the internal politics of the school had really been taken over by the most rabid segregationists."

Carlotta Walls LaNier of the Little Rock Nine

Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of the Little Rock 9, shares her experiences integrating Central High School in the 1950s. Four weeks before graduation, her home was bombed. She recalls, "I got up that very next morning after my home was bombed and I went back to school because if I had not gone, they would have felt like they had won. And I graduated. I am the only female of the Little Rock Nine to participate in graduation exercise at Little Rock Central High School."