On August 30, 1956, a white mob in Mansfield, Texas, attempted to prevent the enrollment of Black students at Mansfield High School. This occurred after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, some Southern states resisted desegregation.

In Mansfield, the local school board had voted to comply with the ruling and enroll Black students. However, when the students arrived to enroll, they were met by a violent mob of white residents who physically blocked their entrance to the school. The mob was intent on preventing desegregation by any means necessary.

As a result, the Black students were never able to attend the school, and the incident was a significant moment in the broader struggle for civil rights in the U.S. It also became a symbol of the fierce resistance to desegregation in many Southern states during the 1950s and 1960s.