1. On September 23, 1957, nine African American students attempted to enroll in a previously all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. This event, known as the Little Rock Nine, was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and prompted nationwide support and protests.

2. On September 23, 1969, the University of Alabama admitted its first African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. This event was mired with controversy and Governor George Wallace famously tried to block their enrollment, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

3. In a tragic event on September 23, 1974, Auburn University football player, Mike Kolen, collided with a goal post during a game against Wake Forest University. Kolen suffered a broken neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. He became an advocate for spinal cord injury research and founded the Mike Kolen Foundation to support others with similar injuries.

4. On September 23, 2004, Alabama native and former astronaut Kathryn Thornton was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. Thornton was the first woman to fly on four space shuttle missions and later became a professor of engineering at the University of Virginia.

5. In 1950 on this day some 49 people died when a train derailed and collided with a gasoline truck near Mobile, Alabama. The accident occurred in the morning hours in a rural area and resulted in one of the worst train disasters in Alabama history. The tragedy prompted stricter regulations and safety measures for transportation systems, including railways and highways.