When Oliver Brown attempted to enroll his daughter into a white elementary school because the distance to a colored school was too far, she was denied acceptance. Oliver then turned his problem over to the NAACP. With the case in the NAACP's hands it was brought to a US District court. After arguing that the "separate but equal" system was affecting children's ability to learn. Although the judge did admit that the system created an inferior environment where it was difficult for a child to learn, since the case of Plessy v. Ferguson was undecided the court ruled in favor of the Board of Education. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court where the court found the "separate but equal" educational system unconstitutional. Although many holes still remained open as the judge never stated a specific time the desegregation of public schools had to be enforced, nor did it abolish segregation of public places. (Kluger) This was still a victory for the NAACP, which made a name for itself as a key group in the effort toward black and white equality.
One the most gruesome events that headed the Civil Rights Movement was the vicious murder of a young African American boy named Emmett Till. In August of1955, a fourteen year old, African American boy went to visit his relatives in the town of Money, Mississippi. Emmett Till was intelligent and bold and had experienced segregation in his hometown of Chicago. The segregation that was going on in the south at the time though was such that he was unaccustomed to. When Emmett showed some local boys a picture of a white girl who Emmett claimed was his girlfriend, one of them told him to go and talk to a white woman that was standing inside a store. Emmett went inside and bought some candy. As he left, he said "Bye baby" to Carolyn Bryant, the wife of the storeowner. Unaware of the kind of culture that existed in the south at the time, Emmett thought nothing of his actions.
