Racial segregation was common in the 19th century United States, separating whites and blacks in public spaces like schools, restaurants, and transportation. The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Prominent civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks protested segregation through nonviolent activism, helping to achieve greater legal equality and integration, though racial biases still persisted in society.

1. Racial Segregation

2. Racial Segregation is the separation of different racial groups in daily life. This was shown in the 19th Century. Everything had its place for Whites and Colored. They experienced it in restaurants, drinking fountains, restrooms, schools, movie theatres, and in buying or selling or renting homes.

3. It was strange for people to see a white man and a black man together talking. They would see that white man as “white trash” for being associated with “those kind of people”.

4. Segregation was really common in schools. Black children were not allowed to go to the same school as the white children. In 1957, thanks to the Brown vs. Board of Education, all of this stopped. The picture above shows a classroom with all black students.

5. Many people would rebel, and try to protest. They would disobey the signs and the rules, and go into “White Only” places. Through protest, many people have made a change in history, and actually did what they tried to do.

6. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa parks, are to two people that protested on the segregation. They both are a big part of history. They have a lot to do with why there is not so much racial segregation today.

7. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech in 1963. He talked about wanting whites and blacks to live equally among each other. He gave his speech in front of a huge audience of over 250,000 people. It made a big impact on peoples lives.

8. Another famous protest, was the Montgomery bus Boycott. After Rosa Parks incident with refusing to get off the bus, all the black people refused to use the bus as a means of transportation for about 381 days. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. were leaders of the Boycott.

9. In the 1930’s, there was an infamous trial for the Scottsboro boys. Nine African American boys were accused of having raped two white women on a train. Back then, rape was immediately sentenced to death. These boys had their fate decided before their trials started.

10. From 1876-1965, The Jim Crow Laws were active. They were designed to give a “separate but equal” environment. They required racial segregation in public places. The black and white were not allowed to hang out at the same places. But the black still did not have a lot of opportunity for jobs. It was very limited.

11. Later on, African Americans began to get more rights. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play on a professional baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, since 1889 when baseball became segregated. Jackie Robinson ended up accomplishing so much, despite the fact that he’s black.

12. Works Cited. &quot;Another MLK Day.&quot; Comrade Kevin's Chrestomathy . 31 May 2009 <http://cabaretic.blogspot.com/2009/01/another-mlk-day.html?showComment=1232381100000>. &quot;Create a Poem (Finding the Heart in History) (Library of Congress).&quot; Library of Congress Home . 31 May 2009 <http://www.loc.gov/teachers/history/create/write.php?gallery=wwii&item=7>. &quot;Howstuffworks &quot;How the Civil Rights Movement Worked&quot;&quot; Howstuffworks &quot;History&quot; 01 June 2009 <http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/civil-rights-movement.htm/printable>. &quot;Montgomery, 1955: an online exhibit.&quot; IIT Downtown Campus Library . 30 May 2009 <http://library.kentlaw.edu/Exhibit/Montgomery/otherarrest.htm>. The Official Site of Jackie Robinson . 31 May 2009 <http://www.jackierobinson.com/about/photos/index.html>. &quot;Photo Galleries | Martin Luther King | Seattle Times Newspaper.&quot; The Seattle Times | Seattle Times Newspaper . 31 May 2009 <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/king/photogalleries/56-62/04.html>. &quot;Photo of Hotel Clark.&quot; African-American History . 30 May 2009 <http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/jimcrowlaw1/ig/Racial-Segregation-Signs/Hotel-Clark.htm>. &quot;Photo of Waiting Room, Tennessee.&quot; African-American History . 31 May 2009 <http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/jimcrowlaw1/ig/Racial-Segregation-Signs/Waiting-Room--Tennessee.htm>. &quot;Profile of Judge James Horton. Jr., Scottsboro Judge.&quot; UMKC School of Law . 31 May 2009 <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/trialheroes/essayhorton.html>. &quot;Racial segregation -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia.&quot; Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia . 31 May 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/488135/racial-segregation>. &quot;Un biopic sur Martin Luther King Jr produit par Steven Spielberg «.&quot; The Yellow Kid . 01 June 2009 <http://theyellowkid.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/un-biopic-sur-martin-luther-king-jr-produit-par-steven-spielberg/>. &quot;&quot;White Only&quot; Drinking Fountain.&quot; African-American History . 01 June 2009 <http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/civilrightsmovement/ig/Civil-Rights-Movement-Photos/Drinking-Fountain.htm>.