Girard College

Endowed by a philanthropist in 1848 as a boarding school for white orphaned boys, Girard College refused to admit black students for over 100 years. In 1954 a legal suit was filed to force the college to desegregate and admit black students. The case worked its way through the federal courts while protests and a rally by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. garnered publicity and support. In 1968 black students were finally admitted to the college.