History of racial segregation in the United States
These victories were not easy.  Protesters were often threatened and attacked.  Leaders' homes were bombed.  In Birmingham, the police attacked protesters, including children, with police dogs and fire hoses, then took them to jail.  In other cities, police beat protesters with clubs and fired into student protests.  Three of the movement's leaders  Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers  were murdered.