On this day in 1964, two Methodist Bishops, one Black and one white, visit Galloway Memorial Church in Jackson, Mississippi, to attend Easter Sunday services. They are blocked from entering by ushers citing “church policy” that bans Black people from entering. A crowd of white people surrounds and harasses the bishops with taunts and jeers until they leave.

Ten blocks away, an interracial group of nine men, including clergy, enter the Capitol Street Methodist Church for Easter service, and are soon arrested for trespassing.

The next day, a judge convicts all nine men of “disturbing public worship” and sentences them to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

95 days later, the U.S. Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.