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Brown v. Board of Education
a Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Led by Oliver Brown, whose daughter, Linda Brown, was denied entry to a white school, the case challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine. The Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that segregation violated the 14th Amendment, leading to the desegregation of schools and a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Murder of Emmett Till
In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by two white men in Mississippi after being accused of whistling at a white woman. His body was found in a river, and his mother held an open-casket funeral to reveal the brutality. The men confessed but were acquitted by an all-white jury. Till's death helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement.