The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas on Sept. 10, 1991, after President George H.W. Bush nominated him to the Supreme Court. Thomas was seeking to succeed Justice Thurgood Marshall, who had announced his retirement.

The hearings became one of the most closely watched Supreme Court confirmation battles in U.S. history after law professor Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexual harassment. Thomas denied the allegations, and the controversy ultimately led to additional hearings before the Senate confirmed his nomination.

Clarence Thomas during his 1991 confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Twenty Black students entered previously segregated public schools in Alabama on Sept. 10, 1963, as federal authorities enforced court-ordered desegregation. The move came after years of resistance to integrating the state's public education system.

The integration followed a confrontation between federal officials and Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who had opposed desegregation. The students' admission represented another significant step in the federal government's enforcement of civil-rights protections during the movement to end racial segregation in American schools.

Black students and civil-rights supporters during Alabama's school desegregation struggle in 1963.

Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon in Rome on Sept. 10, 1960, completing the race barefoot. His victory made him the first Black African athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and established him as one of the world's leading distance runners.

Bikila finished the marathon in a world-record time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 16.2 seconds. His unexpected barefoot victory became one of the defining moments of the Rome Games and a landmark achievement in African Olympic history.

Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila celebrates after winning the 1960 Olympic marathon barefoot.