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It was a simple act of defiance that helped change the racist face of America. And 54 years after nine young black men were sentenced to hard labour in a chain gang for ordering lunch at a “whites only” counter, the survivors have finally been exonerated.

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The “jail, no bail” strategy of the Friendship Nine, as they became known, galvanized the fight against racial segregation across the American South at the height of the civil rights struggle.

With crowds outside, a packed courtroom in Rock Hill, South Carolina, cheered and jumped to its feet as Judge John Hayes – the nephew of the judge who imposed the sentence in 1961 – “vacated” the criminal records of the men.

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The overturning of the convictions is another reminder of America’s painful racial legacy at a time when the film Selma has put that history back in the spotlight. Nominated for the best picture Oscar for its portrayal of the civil rights era, the film stars the British actor David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King.