40. Integrating Segregated Schools Was Essential
Dorothy Counts, pictured above with boys mocking her, was the first African-American student to attend a school that had been exclusively white up until that time. From the jeers and humiliation, one can see that she faced how difficult her task was, but her face is filled with resolute determination not to be defeated. If you had any questions about how integration happened, it was not an inspiring, spine-tingling era. No, the people who led the way for integrating schools faced constant harassment from their white peers, who made no secret of their feelings about integration.