Civil Rights Movement

Visual Essay
Caroline Savage and Sammy Quiroz
 Brown vs. Board (1954)

Brown vs. Board of education

was the largest supreme court
decision made during this time
period. This ended legal
segregation in the school
system. However similar to
plessy v ferguson the idea of
separate but equal was still
present. As seen in the picture
there was much resistance in
the southern states. Black
students received dirtier books
and worse treatment by
teachers. And even though
black students were allowed to
join the schools the backlash
was great as seen in the Ruby
Bridges case.
Lipton, Adam. Brown v Board. Digital
image. The New York Times. N.p., 10
Dec. 2004. Web.
 Ruby Bridges (1954)
Ruby Bridges was the first black
girl to go to an all white school
in the Southern States. During
this time the south was very
segregated still despite Brown
vs. Board. On her first day of
class she caused a scene in her
town. Her mother as well as
government marshalls had to
escort her to class as seen in the
picture. Angry mobs followed
her into class and this reflected
people's thoughts on
desegregation in the south. In
order to go to the school she had
to take a test and she was the
only one out of six of her peers
that were allowed to go to the
white school.
Campion, Clyde. Ruby Bridges. Digital
image. N.p., 6 Aug. 2007. Web.
 Murder of Emmett Till
(1955)
Emmett Till was a fourteen
year old African American boy
who was violently beaten and
lynched after being falsely
accused of flirting with a white
woman. His mother decided to
hold an open casket funeral in
order to display the atrocities
committed against her only son.
The story of Emmett Till’s
death and images of his
mutilated corpse were picked
up by mainstream media and
successfully broadcasted the
brutality of Jim Crow. His
murder was a catalyst for the
beginning of the Civil Rights
Movement.

Emmett Till. Digital image. USA

Today. Gannett News
Service, 27 Feb. 2014. Web.
3 Apr. 2017.
 Rosa Parks’ Arrest (1955)
On December 1, 1955 Rosa
Parks was arrested in
Montgomery Alabama for not
giving up her seat on the public
bus for her white peer. She was
a hero for the people in her town
because the segregation of the
city bus became national news.
Her single act of non violence
was the spark that fueled the
flame of civil rights in
montgomery. The bus boycott
came into effect for almost a
year after this incident. This
picture captures her peaceful act
that changed civil rights in
Alabama. Despite her peaceful
behavior she was charged with
disorderly conduct in the system
but was bailed out by the
NAACP.
Loveland, Morgan. Rosa Parks. Digital
image. Freedom Heros. N.p., 5 Mar.
 Little Rock Nine (1957)
Similar to Ruby Bridges, nine
black students took the first step
in their community to integrate
the local Little Rock High School.
The president Eisenhower sent in
troops to escort students into their
classes on their first full day of
classes. This picture captures the
moment that the guards escorted
them out of the school at the end
of day. This was a landmark act of
this town as the Brown v Board
asked for a quick integration of
public schools.

Jaynes, Gerald. Little Rock Nine. Digital

image. Britticania. N.p., 23 Sept. 1957.
Web. 4 Apr. 2017.
 Greensboro Four (1960)
The Greensboro Four were a
group of four North Carolina
A&T students who staged a
“sit-in” at the whites-only lunch
counter at a Woolworth’s in
Greensboro, NC. The group
refused to move from their seats
until they were served, and
when they inevitably were
never served, they remained at
the counter and came back the
following day. Each day the
Greensboro Four attracted a
larger crowd for the sit-in and
eventually won the
desegregation of lunch counters
in Greensboro and other “public
accommodations”.

Greensboro Four. Digital image.

FOX8. News and Record, 1
Feb. 2016. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
 James Meredith (1962)
James Meredith, an African
American man, gains admission
to the University of Mississippi,
after a supreme court decision
ruled in his favor. “Separate but
equal” established in Plessy v.
Ferguson could not be upheld
in his case because the “equal”
law school for black students
did not have near the same
amount of resources and quality
of education. He received
support from the NAACP in his
court appeal. His admission was
protested by violent riots
wherein two people were killed,
and was escorted into the
school by federal marshals sent
by General Robert F. Kennedy.
Ole Miss Riots. Digital image. BBC
News. On This Day, 1 Oct.
2015. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
March on Washington (1963)
After President Kennedy proposed
legislation that prohibited segregation
in public accommodations, more than
20,000 led by Martin Luther King Jr
marched on the steps of Capitol Hill
to support the legislation and demand
equality. This peaceful protest
became known as the March on
Washington. At the march, Martin
Luther King Jr eloquently delivered
his “I Have a Dream” speech which
inspired many to join the
demonstrations and demand civil
rights. The demonstration received a
mass amount of publicity, especially
because it was broadcast across news
stations. This protest helped gather
momentum for the passage of the
Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Fernandez, O. In Front of the 170 W

St., March on Washington. 1963.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
 Birmingham, 1963
The everyday heroes of the
Civil Rights Movement often go
unnoticed. Portrayed are several
protesters being shot down with
high power water hoses held by
the Birmingham Fire
Department. The acts of protest
and subsequent violence was
broadcasted live on television,
shocking many white viewers
and stirring support for the
movement towards racial
equality.

Moore, Charles. Birmingham 1963.

. Digital image. NPR. AP/ Wide
. World Photos, n.d. Web. 4 Apr.
. 2017.
 Freedom Summer African
American Voter Registration
Drive (1964)
Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil
rights activist in the south. She
drew from her own expiriences in
the south as a target in her racial
society. She helped organize the
Freedom Summer African
American Voter registration. This
was in the summer of 1964 and this
was an attempt to encourage people
who are eligable to vote to register.
This was an attempt to make the
african american voices heard in
government. This is heroic because
it made a difference in voting as
well as promoted black involvment
in government.
Mitchell, Jerry. Fannie Lou Hamer. Digital
image. Clarion Ledger. N.p., 4 Oct. 2016.
Web.