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Plessy v. Ferguson
The supreme court holds that racial segregation is constitutional, paving the way for the Jim Crows laws in the south, and thus allowing school segregation to be justified -
Brown V. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas
A court ruling that declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional after Linda Brown was denied admission to her local elementary school because she was black. -
The Little Rock Nine
Nine African-American students are blocked from entering the school on orders of governor Ovral Faubus forcing National Guards to intervene. Even though they managed to graduated, they faced a multitude of violent threats -
Meredith, James
Becomes the first black student to successfully enroll at the University of Mississippi. John F. Kenny required 5,000 federal troops to ensure that peace would be upheld, but fighting still broke out. -
Regents of the University of California V. Bakke
Upholds the constitutionality of affirmative action, but imposed limitations on it to ensure that providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come at the expense of the rights of the majority. This means that Americans would benefit over African-Americans. -
Grutter v. Bollinger
Upholds the University of Michigan Law School's policy ruling that race can be one of the many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the education benefits that flow from a diverse student body". -
Parents V. Seattle and Meredith V. Jefferson
This case ended in a 5 to 4 court ruling, which called out in support to a program in Seattle and Louisville, Ky, that tried to maintain diversity in schools by considering race when assigning students to schools as unconstitutional.
