Civil Rights in the 1950s and early 1960s A look into the world of Melba Pattillo Beals

What is Segregation?  the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means Definition from Merriam-Webster

Separate But Equal Jim Crow Laws Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) “Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood.” —Nebraska, 1911 “It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers.” —Birmingham, Alabama, 1930 “Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.” —Missouri, 1929 Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) Legitimized the doctrine of “separate but equal”

Brown vs. Board of Education In 1954, most of the country had racially segregated schools. Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) Thurgood Marshall Overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson “Separate but equal” is deemed unconstitutional.

School Integration The Supreme Court delays on deciding how states are to integrate, but says that they must desegregate "with all deliberate speed". Between 1955 and 1960, federal judges will hold more than 200 school desegregation hearings. 1956- The University of Alabama admits Autherine Lucy 1957- Little Rock Nine

Greensboro Sit Ins February 1st, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil Woolworth’s Lunch Counter

Greensboro Sit Ins By February 5th, 300 students had joined the sit in at Woolworth’s By the end of March the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. That summer, Woolworth’s Lunch Counter became integrated along with other dining facilities in the south.