Editing Huntsville, Alabama (section)

===Civil Rights Movement to modern day===
Huntsville was a key location in the [[Civil rights movement|Civil Rights Movement]]. In 1962, students from [[Alabama A&M University]] held the city's first lunch counter [[Sit-in movement|sit-in]].{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=66}} After the mayor refused to address the protests, the Community Service Committee (CSC) was formed to help organize sit-ins and protests, as well as [[Bail|bail out]] arrested protestors.{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=67}}<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Kerry |date=April 14, 2014 |title=Blacks in Huntsville, Alabama, sit in and win racial desegregation at lunch counters, 1962 |url=https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/blacks-huntsville-alabama-sit-and-win-racial-desegregation-lunch-counters-1962 |access-date=May 23, 2023 |website=Global Nonviolent Action Database}}</ref> In April 1962, a committee was formed by the city to "address the concerns of the African American community,"{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=77}} and eight lunch counters, as well as a number of other public spaces, were desegregated.{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=77}}<ref name=":6" /> On May 11, 1962, Huntsville became the first city in Alabama to be racially integrated.<ref name=":6" />

In June 1963, the admission of two Black students to the University of Alabama in Huntsville was challenged by [[Governor of Alabama|Governor]] [[George Wallace]]. Wallace pushed back the registration dates for multiple state universities (presumably to allow more time for [[state troopers]] to move into the area) but instead moved them to [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]. The students were admitted without issues. Around the same time, the [[color barrier]] was broken further when the first white person enrolled at Alabama A&M University.{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=79–80}} In August 1963, a court ruling determined that Huntsville must desegregate their schools. Wallace used state troopers to stop four students from entering the first desegregated school. On September 6, the troopers announced that the desegregated schools were closed for three more days, but the Board of Education issued a statement denying the closure.{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=80–82}} When the schools opened on September 9, Wallace was served a restraining order against further interference with the desegregation of Huntsville schools.{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=85}} Huntsville became the first city in Alabama to desegregate its schools as well.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Margo |date=January 18, 2011 |title=Blue jeans put Huntsville in civil rights movement |url=https://www.waff.com/story/13858582/blue-jeans-put-huntsville-in-civil-rights-movement |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=[[WAFF (TV)|WAFF 48]] |language=en}}</ref>

Alabama's opposition to desegregation at this time caused concern from the NASA Administrator [[James E. Webb]], who investigated equal employment opportunities for Black people in Huntsville. After failing to attract high-level staff to Huntsville, Webb said that "some research work would have to be switched from Huntsville to New Orleans". This investigation into employment caused MSFC to open their engineering education programs to Black students at Alabama A&M and [[Oakwood College]], as well as for local contractors to "work for progress in race relations".{{Sfn|Fisk|2019|p=86–87}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neuman |first=Scott |date=July 22, 2019 |title=As NASA's Apollo Space Program Grew, Alabama Was Pressured To Desegregate |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/22/744023616/as-nasas-apollo-space-program-grew-alabama-was-pressured-to-desegregate |access-date=May 25, 2023 |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

The emergence of the [[Space Shuttle]], the [[International Space Station]], and a wide variety of advanced research in space sciences led to a resurgence in NASA-related activities that has continued into the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarter |first=Mark |date=September 25, 2017 |title=Huntsville tethers International Space Station to Earth |url=https://cityblog.huntsvilleal.gov/huntsville-tethers-international-space-station-to-earth/ |access-date=May 25, 2023 |website=City of Huntsville |language=en-US}}</ref> In addition, new Army organizations have emerged at Redstone Arsenal, particularly in the ever-expanding field of [[missile defense]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kesner |first=Kenneth |date=September 6, 2012 |title='Epicenter of missile defense' growing on Redstone Arsenal |url=https://www.al.com/breaking/2012/09/epicenter_of_missile_defense_g.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |website=AL.com |language=en}}</ref>