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1896 Plessy V. Ferguson
In 1896, the supreme court passed the Jim Crow law. African Americans were not allowed to share busses, schools and other public facilities as white. -
1950 NAACP
By early 1950 National Association for the Advancement for the Advancement of Colored People, were working hard against segregation laws and had filled lawsuits. -
1951 Most Famous Case
In 1951, Oliver Brown filled a lawsuit against the board of education of Topeka, after his daughter was denied the acceptance to Topeka's all white elementary school. He claimed it was a violation against the 14 Amendment. -
1952, Supreme Court
When Brown’s case and four other cases related to school segregation first came before the Supreme Court in 1952, Thurgood Marshall, does the first hearing, who will later become the first African American justice on the Supreme Court, is the lead counsel for the black school children. -
1953 Supreme court
The Supreme Court hears the second round of arguments in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. -
1954 Brown V. Board of Education Overturns
1954 In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education overturns Plessy and declares that separate schools are "inherently unequal." -
1956 First Student
Under court order, the University of Alabama admits Autherine Lucy, its first African American student. White students and residents riot. Lucy is suspended and later expelled for criticizing the university. -
The End
U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregation in public education was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine in place since 1896 and sparking massive resistance among white Americans committed to racial inequality. -
More Hearings
Between 1955 and 1960, federal judges will hold more than 200 school desegregation hearings.