By: Nita Tunga, Brigit Carrigan, Jenny Lane, and Brett Davis

Nita Tunga

 Linda Brown, daughter of Oliver Brown, was required to attend an African American school  The school was on the other side of town  However, there was a white school only seven blocks away  When her parents tried enrolling her in the white school, their request was denied  Her parents sued the Board of Education, which created the basis for Brown vs. Board of Education

 Five states were involved in the Brown vs. Board of Education: Kansas (Oliver Brown was from here), Delaware, District of Columbia, South Carolina, and Virginia  The case occurred in 1954  Plessy vs. Ferguson, which was the case of “separate but equal,” had set the stage for the Brown vs. Board of Education case

 Segregation is when African American people could not attend the same schools as white people  White schools were better than African American schools  White schools would have more books in better condition  African American schools would be stuffy and cramped

 Oliver Brown sued the Board of Education for denying his daughter the right to attend the white school close to his house  He was part of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)  NAACP was an organization that was trying to convince the Board of Education to improve black schools

 In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled segregation laws unconstitutional  Segregation was said to violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution  Though Brown won the case, his victory only affected education rather than ending racism  The case led to the beginning of integration

Brigit Carrigan

 On December 1 st, 1955, forty-two year old seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.  The Bus Boycott occurred in Montgomery, Alabama.  The bus driver asked her to give up her seat because a man walked on the bus, but she refused.  She was sitting towards the middle of the bus and he wanted her to move to the back.

 She was arrested because she “violated a city ordinance” and violated the “laws of segregation”.  This event was called the “Bus Boycott”.  She and many other decided to not ride to bus.  Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the Bus Boycott.

 African-Americans were about 75% of the total people riding the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  The Bus Boycott lasted 382 days.  Rosa led African-Americans to freedom and equality.

Jenny Lane

By Brett Davis