When angry protesters tried to block nine black students from attending Little Rock Central High School, it sparked a political crisis. The governor of Alabama supported the protests, despite a Supreme Court verdict that had banned school segregation. After a tense standoff, the students were allowed in, but on the orders of President Eisenhower they were escorted by federal troops for their own safety.
Even in a country where the killing of black Americans was common, the brutal murder of Emmett Till by white supremacists in Drew shocked the nation. His mother made sure that the funeral service was conducted with an open coffin so the world could see how badly Till had been beaten, but that did not stop the protagonists being acquitted by an all-white jury.
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