The Constitution states that every child in the United States has the right to a free and equal public education. However, for most of our country's history, this was not the case. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jim Crow laws, which legalized racial segregation in all public places. This meant separate movie theaters, different entrances for blacks and whites, separate water fountains, and racially segregated schools; some even had to use separate textbooks and bibles for white and black students. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayIn 1954, a lawsuit intended to combat segregation in schools, Brown v. Board of Education, was filed in the Court supreme and won. The United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was in fact unconstitutional. Even with the new law in effect, southern schools still refused to allow black children to attend, including Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Nine African American students, with high grades and good behavior, were selected to attend Central High School in response to the New Blossom Plan, which aimed to gradually integrate public schools. The students, later known as the Little Rock Nine, were greeted with hatred, anger and violence when they arrived for their first day in September 1957. The nine students were greeted by a line of National Guard soldiers, not to protect them. but to prevent them from entering Central High. They faced resistance from their state leaders, community members, and white students at the high school itself. Arkansas' governor called in the National Guard, citing potential violence, to prevent the nine people from entering. Members of the community hurled racial slurs at them and threatened physical violence against the African American students. White students at the school swore at them, spit on them, and threw sticks and bats at mannequins hanging from trees. If a white student tried to befriend or advocate for one of the nine, they were heckled and ridiculed by their peers. “A major obstacle to desegregation was the desire of most whites to maintain neighborhood schools. » They just didn't want African Americans attending the same school as their white children. This was the norm in 1950s American culture, with racism and bigotry passed down from generation to generation. Whites felt the need to maintain patriarchy and integration posed a threat to this. The nine African American students faced adversity, hatred and violence, but continued to show up on the steps of Central High. Upon entering the school, they were met with more resistance as thousands showed up to protest the presence of "blacks" in the school with white students. All nine Little Rock students were removed from school that day. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed his support. He ordered the National Guard to escort students throughout the school day. However, they had to face a school year marked by harassment and violence, despite the protection of their chaperones. They were locked in rooms, had acid thrown at them and hot food thrown into their laps. Despite the reluctance of students, professors and the community, students.