By ROBYN H. JIMENEZ
The Dallas Examiner

During the Civil Rights Movement, some of the biggest steps toward justice were taken by the country's youngest citizens. One of which was 14-year-old Carlotta Walls. She was the youngest of 10 students, chosen out of 117 Black students to attend Little Rock Central High School, an all-White school. The students were chosen based on academic success and good attendance.

Until then, Black students only attended schools designated for Blacks. That was until May 17, 1954 when the United States Supreme Court ruled that Black children must be allowed to attend any public school in order to obtain an equal education. Afterward, the NAACP took on the task of desegregating all-White schools in the South.

A year after the court ruling, the Little Rock school board approved the registration of African American students and developed a plan to gradually integrate.
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Taking a Seat for Justice
Reflecting on the success of historic 1960s sit-ins

By MARTHA WAGGONER
Associated Press

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The four college freshmen walked quietly into a Greensboro dime store on a breezy Monday afternoon, bought a few items, then sat down at the “Whites only” lunch counter – and sparked a wave of civil rights protest that changed America.

Violating a social custom as rigid as law, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond sat near an older White woman on the silver-backed stools at the F.W. Woolworth. The Black students had no need to talk; theirs was no spontaneous act. Their actions on Feb. 1, 1960, were meticulously planned, down to buying a few school supplies and toiletries and keeping their receipts as proof that the lunch counter was the only part of the store where racial segregation still ruled.

“The best feeling of my life,” McCain said, was “sitting on that dumb stool.”

“I felt so relieved,” he .
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BLACK COUPLES who have impacted history
Love stories from yesterday and today

By ROBYN H. JIMENEZ
The Dallas Examiner

As Valentine’s Day approaches, during Black History Month, it seems appropriate to take a look at African American couples that have been trailblazers in their own way, making an impact on American history.

There have been couples throughout history that have treaded the path for decades. Others have only just begun, in comparison. Some couples began to tread the path individually, then met the love of their life and began blazing the trails together as a team. Others were more of a tag team or a relay, where one partner took up the baton when the other’s path came to an end.

The following are just a few of the most notable couples in Black history. And regardless as to where, when and how their paths were blazed into history, they displayed love, dedication and passion for their partners and the world around them.

Herbert and Zelmyra .
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Dr. James Lawson - Architect of Lunch Counter Sit-ins
Celebrating the fruits of nonviolence

By DENISE JOHNSON STOVALL
The Dallas Examiner

As the country celebrated African American History Month, Dallas paid tribute to Dr. James M. Lawson Jr., “the architect of lunch counter sit-ins.”

The 81-year-old pastor emeritus of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles was the guest speaker during St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church services on Jan. 31.
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