In the 1950’s, many groups fought diligently to fight for equal rights for minorities across the United States. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Little Rock Nine are just two examples of such groups. While both groups fought for equal rights, they did so in both contrasting and similar ways. This can be seen in society, in civil rights, and in legislation. Led by Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a group of sixty black ministers and pastors that met in Atlanta to make plans to end discrimination in a non-violent, civil disobedience way. Their goal was to “redeem the soul of America” through peaceful resistance according to Dr. King, "because we have no moral choice, before God, …show more content…
The Little Rock Nine ignited anger from the white community, considering blacks were coming into their “territory” and getting the same opportunity as their white children. When talking to her granddaughter Melba, Grandma India stated, "Now you see that's the reason God spared your life. You're supposed to carry this banner for our people." Melba was reminded by her grandmother that she was not only entering the school for herself, but for those watching around her. The nine children that led the integration movement helped encourage other kids to want to integrate in white schools as well. Africans Americans and whites both had difficult adjustments, considering they have been separated for decades, sense of abnormality for all involved. The civil rights movement is a very historic era because it shows a time of change and a time of expression from minorities. Without the help from the Little Rock Nine and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights movement would probably not have existed. These two groups helped African Americans have courage all over the country to stand up for their rights and equal treatment that they refused to sit around and be denied of. “Three hundred years of humiliation, abuse and deprivation cannot be expected to find voice in a whisper.” – Martin Luther King Jr. …show more content…
In 1957, civil rights supporters won a major victory when the Brown v. Board case ruled that separating black and white students in school should be ruled as unconstitutional. Cooper v. Aaron was a significant U.S. Supreme Court decision during the tumultuous period of school integration efforts in the United States in the mid-20th century. In Cooper v. Aaron, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on September 12, 1958, for integration to proceed immediately at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Although when the case was settled, the Little Rock Nine were unable to enter the school because Arkansas governor, Orval Faubus, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block their entry. Gov. Faubus's refusal to obey the school board’s decision prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to federalize Arkansas' entire National Guard and reluctantly order the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to protect the students' entry. At the end of the school year, Little Rock school officials asked for a delay on implementing desegregation from the federal district court; U.S. District Judge Harry Lemley granted the delay until January 1961. During the Eisenhower administration, one more attempt was made to pass a civil rights bill that would give the attorney general the power to file suits challenging segregationist laws. The 1960 bill included the