because the government forced them to. The Supreme Court ruled that blacks could not vote .
in primary elections, and that seperate but equal facilities had to be equal. in 1954 the court .
stated that all public schools must be integrated. Thurgood Marshall argued for the integration .
and was later recognized for his work by the Supreme Court.
The south did not accept integration of schools peacefully. By any means possible .
politicians from southern states decided to resist the court's decision. In Little Rock, .
Arkansas the National Guard was sent to schools on the first day of classes to try to prevent .
violence between blacks and whites. And to prevent violence they stopped blacks from .
attending school. A federal judge ordered the National Guard out, then again blacks tried .
going school again but the white mob forced them to go home. The president then removed .
the National Guard and sent the Army to open the schools.
Civil Rights were not won only in courts. Another procedure that blacks throughout the .
south used "Civil Disobedience". The idea was that if enough people protest by acts of Civil .
Disobedience, the public may start to question the laws. On December 1, 1955 a woman .
named Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man who asked for it. It was against the .
law, so she was arrested. This little woman inspired many people and she quickly became a .
symbol of the civil rights movement.
It was around the time that Martin Luther King Jr. became a leader in the Civil Rights .
Movement. He stated that like Ghandi in India, black people needed to practice Civil .
Disobedience. He told people to stop using the buses until they treated blacks and whites .
To What Extent 5 .
.