<P> Some schools around America were integrated before the mid-20th century, the first ever school being Lowell High School in Massachusetts, which has accepted students of all races at its inception . The earliest known African American student, Caroline Van Vronker, attended the school in 1843 . The integration of all American schools was a major catalyst for the civil rights action and racial violence that occurred in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century . </P> <P> After the Civil War, the first legislation providing rights to African - Americans was passed . The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, which were passed between 1865 and 1870, abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and protection under the law, and prohibited racial discrimination in voting, respectively . </P> <P> Despite these Reconstruction amendments, blatant discrimination took place through what would come to be known as Jim Crow laws . As a result of these laws, African - Americans were required to sit on different park benches, use different drinking fountains, and ride in different railroad cars than their white counterparts, among other segregated aspects of life . Though the Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited discrimination in public accommodations, in 1896 the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson that racially segregated public facilities such as schools, parks, and public transportation were legally permissible as long as they were equal in quality . This separate but equal doctrine legalized segregation in schools . </P> <P> This institutionalized discrimination led to the creation of black schools--or segregated schools for children of African - American descent . With the help of philanthropists such as Julius Rosenwald and black leaders such as Booker T. Washington, black schools began to gain repute and became respectable institutions . These schools soon assumed prominent places in black communities, with teachers being seen as highly respected community leaders . However, despite their important role in black communities, black schools remained underfunded and ill - equipped, particularly in comparison to white schools . For example, between 1902 and 1918, the General Education Board--a philanthropic organization created to strengthen public schools in the south--gave $2.4 million to black schools and over $25 million to white schools . </P>

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