Little Rock Nine History

On September 3, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Jefferson Thomas, Minnijean Brown (Trickey), Carlotta Walls (LaNier), Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray (Karlmark), Thelma Mothershed-Wair, and Melba Patillo Beals set off for school. The governor of Arkansas, Orvel Faubus, had sent National Guardsmen to the school the previous day to surround the building and keep all African-Americans from entering its doors. He stated in an interview that the reason for the troops was he heard a rumor that white supremacists were going to riot and he was just protecting the students. He declared Central High off-limits to all people of color "in order for their own protection". The students never did make it into school that day. Before they even reached the property they were met with great resistance from racist citizens who spat upon them, mocked them, threw sharp objects at them, and even physically beat them. Melba describes the deep hurt she felt as for the first time in her life she saw

The photo of Elizabeth Eckford is a famous picture. The photo captures Elizabeth Rockford walking coolly into Little Rock Central High School. Elizabeth was part of “ Little Rock Nine”. The Little Rock Nine consisted of Minnijean Brown, Terrance Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls. They were barred by the Arkansas National Guard on September 4, 1957 when they tried to attend Little Rock Central High School. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower heard of this he sent in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. The Little Rock Nine had their first full day on September 25, 1957.

In 1954, the Supreme Court took a step in history with the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka by stating that, “In the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’, has no place. Separate facilities are inheritably unequal.” Little Rock, Arkansas a city in the upper south became a location of a controversial attempt to put the court order into effect when nine African American students were chosen to desegregate Central High in Little Rock. How did the Little Rock Nine affect America? Sanford Wexler stated in The Civil Rights Movement: An Eyewitness History,” its “effect would ripple across the nation and influence the growing Civil Rights Movement;” in addition, the Little Rock crisis forced the federal government

On May 17th, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, officially making the separation of blacks and whites in public schools unconstitutional (Beals 12). This ultimately led to a constant struggle in the South to keep schools segregated. The most notable situation occurred in the town of Little Rock, Arkansas during the 1957 school year. Nine black students volunteered to integrate into Central High. This constant struggle to turn the Supreme Court ruling into a societal norm was documented by one of the Little Rock Nine. Melba Pattillo Beals’s novel, Warriors Don’t Cry, depicts the forces in favor of integration, forces opposing integration, and the constant adversity faced by the Little Rock Nine.

On September 25, 1957 nine courageous children risked their lives to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Due to resistance by the state government and public hostility, federal troops were necessary to let nine African American children attend the school. Although the Supreme Courts Landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education cut down racial segregation in public schools, it was the actions of these nine young kids of school integration that tested the strength of that decision.

(Lucas 31). Most white students didn’t pay attention to them, but others bullied them. (Lucas 32). Minnijean Brown one day lost her temper, and got expelled. On Sept. 1958 the supreme court ruled that all Little Rock public schools would be shut down that year. The Little Rock Nine received International Acclaim for their courage.Ernest Green was the first black student to graduate from Central high. Even though they broke a racial wall; the little rock nine didn’t bring immediate gains for civil rights. (Benson 2).

What was Little Rock Nine? It was a group of nine African American's who had enrolled to an all-white school in September of 1957. In 1954 Little Rock, Arkansas supreme court had passed the bill that segregation in public schools would be considered "unconstitutional". On September 4, 1957 was the first day at Central High. Orval Faubus (governor) had called for Arkansas National Guard to convoyer all the "black" students from entering the school. During that month President Dwight D. Eisenhower went and sent federal troops to help sheild the "Little Rock Nine" into the school.

The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students who enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was very controversial and sparked many protests, and was then followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the involvement of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Little Rock Nine was known for being nine African American students who went to Little Rock’s all-white Central High School in the fall of 1957. They were sent there because of their “academic excellence and willingness to become racial pioneers.” says The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African Americans. The students were told that the National Guardsmen was going to be there that morning but on September 4th, they soon found out that the National Guardsmen was not there to protect the nine of them from angry white citizens, but to block them from getting into the school. On September 4th they were not successful in enter the school But the nine of them were determined and were not want to give up. So the following day, Daisy Bates, head of the NAACP’s local branch, arranged for them to meet to walk to the school together. One of the students named Elizabeth Eckford, did not have a phone in her home so she did not receive the memo. While she walked to school alone angry crowd of whites surrounded her, when she arrived to the school all alone. She was scared and confused all at once, so she sat tensed up on a bench. Luckily a white woman intervened and walked Elizabeth to safety. The other eight students made it to the school together and was turned around again

The little rock 9 were a group of students chosen by the NAACP to test the new desegregation laws passed

A group of nine students; known as ‘The Little Rock Nine’, enrolled in the Central High School in Little Rock during the summer of 1957 to begin classes effective that September. After the Little Rock Crisis the students were initially forbidden to enter the segregated school by the governor, Orval Faubus. Once President Eisenhower stepped in, the students felt safer and wanted to attend class. The students were: Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed and Melba Pattillo Beals. These young men and women known as ‘The Little Rock Nine’ walked out of Central High School due to the segregation and not feeling safe while walking the halls. Even though they were under the protection of the 101st Airborne Division (and then later the Arkansas National Guard), they left the school in hopes that their silent protests would be heard. With what the students went through and how severe the harassment was, being called names, spat on, acid being thrown in their eyes, trying to be lit on fire, beat up, etc; president Eisenhower knew his

The Little Rock Nine faced many struggles, and dealing with the Governor of Arkansas was one of them. As Elizabeth Eckford recalled in her interview with Facing History and Ourselves, she “walked further down the line of guards to where there was another sidewalk,” but when she “stepped up, they crossed rifles” (Eckford). She was informed the night before that there would be guards at the door, but she thought it was to protect them. This didn’t seem to be the case for her, though, because after trying three times to enter the school, she was led by a soldier into the crowd of angry people, shouting for her to leave. She said that they, “to [her] ears sounded like a mob” (Eckford). This was society’s first reaction to the Little Rock Nine,

In 1957 in Little Rock Arkansas schools were integrated for the first time. The Little Rock Nine were a group that started the integration process. This group had nine black girls and boys that went to Central High school to start the integration. This was a huge contribution to the civil rights movement. These events were illuminated by using photographs, news, and television. Although the events were not always portrayed in the perspective of the African-Americans.

However, the problem arose because there were too many applicants from Black students sending to public school. For example, at Central High School in Arkansas, they received over 70 applicants a day and, as a result, it angered the White community around the school. Many White families even began locating the applicants’ homes, either threatening them or damaging their houses, to persuade them to stay away from their school area. The number of applicants started decreasing and finally down to nine. The NAACP tried to help these nine students through their application process to attend the all-white school Little Rock Central High, and since they had excellent grades, behavior and attendance, they got accepted and became known as: The Little Rock Nine. The name of the nine students were Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed, Elizabeth Eckford, Melba Pattilo, Ernest Green, Minniejean Brown, Carlotta Williams, Terrance Roberts, and Jefferson Thomas. They were the ones who had resisted all the threats and had strong determination to attend Central High School. On September 2nd 1957, their first day of school, Arkansas Governor, Orval Faubus, called the National Guard to surround the Central High School to prevent the Little Rock Nine from entering, saying, “The mission of the state militia is to maintain or restore order and to protect the lives and property of citizens. They will not act as segregationists or integrationists but as soldiers.” Ms. Eckford, who had come to school and made it through the angry mob, now was told by the National Guard that she was not allowed to enter the school ground. On September 4th, 1957, the Little Rock Nine who came to school were told to go home again. Later, the National Guard decreased their number to around fifteen to guard both day and night shifts. Then on September 20th, 1957, President Eisenhower stepped in and

Despite this, Little Rock High School unjustly refused to accept Black pupils. In 1957, when nine Black pupils tried to enter the school they were sent away by a large crowd and state troopers. This was reported to Eisen Howersuit, leader of the Federal Government at the time, he backed the pupils by sending in 11,000 of his troops to escort them in and out of school for a year. This was another positive step towards equality and there was a noticeable increase in integration within schools