Eisenhower Intervenes in Little Rock Crisis
President Dwight D. Eisenhower is forced to take action when nine African-American students are prevented from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In a broadcast to the nation on September 24, 1957, the president explains his decision to order Federal troops to Little Rock to ensure that the students are allowed access to the school, as mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
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Eisenhower Intervenes in Little Rock Crisis
Eisenhower Intervenes in Little Rock CrisisAudio Clip (2:10)
Audio Clip (2:10)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower is forced to take action when nine African-American students are prevented from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In a broadcast to the nation on September 24, 1957, the president explains his decision to order Federal troops to Little Rock to ensure that the students are allowed access to the school, as mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
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John F. Kennedy on Desegregation at Ole Miss
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When Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett refused to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling demanding desegregation at the University of Mississippi and the admittance of James Meredith, President John F. Kennedy was forced to intervene. In his address to the nation on September 30, 1962, Kennedy explains his decision to federalize the state national guard in order to maintain law and order while Meredith registers at the college.
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NAACP's Walter White Decries Racial Inequality
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On June 29, 1947, at the closing session of the 38th annual conference for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Walter F. White, the organization’s executive secretary, warns that despite progress made in civil rights, true equality can’t be achieved with a "separate but equal" mandate.
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John F. Kennedy Appeals to Mississippi Governor
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After many unfruitful telephone conversations with Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, President John F. Kennedy calls the governor one more time to discuss the building tension over James Meredith’s impending registration at the University of Mississippi. Though the governor has made clear his opposition to the Supreme Court order to allow Meredith to attend the school, President Kennedy tries to assess whether the governor will maintain law and order when Meredith arrives.
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Brown v. Board of Education Ruling
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On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling against the "separate but equal" mandate and demanded desegregation of schools. Outside the courtroom, the attorneys who argued the Brown v. Board of Education case, James Nabrit Jr., Thurgood Marshall and George Hayes, give a press conference.
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Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton Powell
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In a heated telephone conversation on March 1, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson accuses Adam Clayton Powell of holding up the passage of an education bill.
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John F. Kennedy Intervenes in James Meredith Case
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In defiance of the Supreme Court ruling that the University of Mississippi desegregate and allow James Meredith to attend, Gov. Ross Barnett physically blocked the African-American student from entering the building to register on September 20, 1962. Nine days later, President John F. Kennedy telephones Barnett to persuade him to cooperate with the Court's ruling. Barnett does little to reassure Kennedy, and attempts to pawn off the decision on his lawyer friend Tom Watkins.
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Robert F. Kennedy Calls Governor of Mississippi
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On September 29, 1962, as measures are taken to safely transport James Meredith to the University of Mississippi where he will enroll in accordance with a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding desegregation of the institution, President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy make a series of phone calls to Gov. Ross Barnett who has openly defied the Court's ruling. Attorney General Kennedy gets exasperated when the governor shoots down his idea for crowd control.
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Adam Clayton Powell Rallies Congregation
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In a 1967 sermon, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., pastor and congressman from Harlem, New York City, reaches out to the downtrodden and depressed with his "keep the faith, baby" slogan.
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Truman Supports Civil Rights
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On June 29, 1947, as the first president to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Harry Truman pledges his support for upholding the civil rights of all Americans.
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We are unable to offer the full ''I Have a Dream'' speech, the rights to which are controlled by the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Little Rock Nine
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Silent footage of members of the 101st U.S. Airborne Division escorting the Little Rock Nine into Central High School on September 25, 1957.
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Integration of Central High School
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In 1957 nine black students enrolled at the formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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