These students were some of the first to participate in desegregation of southern K–12 public schools following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education.

[1] In 1954 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Tennessee schools had to desegregate in the case of Brown v. Board of Education.

In 1950, a few years prior to the Supreme Court ruling, some African-American students tried to enroll in Clinton High School but were denied.

A group of white supremacists and people who favored segregation showed up to Clinton to stop the desegregation.

The leader of this group was John Kasper who was an executive of the White Citizens Council and a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Even after a judge ordered him to stop, Kasper led large protests outside the school until he was arrested for contempt of court.

[3] During the first two days of the school year in September, white supremacists and pro-segregationists damaged or destroyed property including windows and vehicles.

[1] After fundraising by the local community and Reverend Billy Graham, enough funds were collected to rebuild Clinton High School and it opened back up in 1960.