Man drinking at "colored" water cooler in the street car terminal. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, July 1939. Photograph by Russell Lee. Copyprint. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

The Journey of a Nation

The Office of Continuing Education pays tribute to the Civil Rights Era through online exhibitions that document events during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Specifically, this web site contains artifacts from the University's celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the Brown verses Board decision to remove the “separate-but-equal” policy in education and other areas of public life.

Some of the original Tuskegee Airmen and Freedom Riders visited the University of Illinois campus to share their experiences. Each group blazed a momentous path, bringing equality to the forefront of our nation.

Tuskegee Airmen
The Freedom Riders