The Legacy of Integration on the NewsHour

The integration of public schools and the military were seminal accomplishments in the fight for equal opportunity in America. The NewsHour takes a look at the legacy of the Brown decision, the executive order to integrate the military and the Little Rock Nine. In the first segment, journalist Haynes Johnson, Ohio State Treasurer Kenneth Blackwell and historians Doris Kearns Goodwin, Michael Beschloss and Roger Wilkins reflect on how the integration of Central High School by the Little Rock Nine affected race relations in America. In a second segment, NewsHour historians and a military official discuss the anniversary of President Truman?s Executive Order 9981, which integrated the armed forces in 1948. In a final segment, Gwen Ifill talks to four experts about the ways Brown v. Board of Education has brought about change, and the ways it has failed to do so.

• documentary
• history
• nonfiction