The right to an equal
education had been granted to African American students
in 1954 by the
United States Supreme Court, when it ruled that segregation was
illegal.
Unfortunately, three years later, many African Americans were still
being
forced to go to separate and inferior schools. African Americans also
still
suffered under "Jim Crow" laws that forced them to use separate public
facilities from whites. Especially in the South, city buses, restaurants,
hotels, public bathrooms and even public water fountains were segregated.
In spite of the repression, courageous African Americans, as well as some
equally gallant whites, challenged segregation. These freedom fighters met
resistance from segregationists at every turn. The segregationists fought
back
not only in the court room, but on the streets, hurting and even
killing African
Americans and other supporters who spoke up for equality.
Progress was slow and accompanied by danger, but African Americans
continued
to fight for their rights. Working together under the guidance
of leaders like
Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Ralph Abernathy, they
challenged the laws
that discriminated against them as well as the
attitudes of many Americans. One
by one segregation laws were overturned
and slowly many white Americans began to
change how they felt about African
Americans.
Other groups, notably Latinos and Native Americans also
became increasingly
active in their drive for full participation in
American society. In 1962,
Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers
Union, which campaigned
nonviolently for better working condition for
Hispanic, Filipino, and other farm
laborers. Native American leaders such
as Dennis Banks and Clyde Bellecourt,
formed the American Indian Movement
in 1968 to address police brutality, slum
housing, unemployment, racism,
and other issues. These movements found broad
support inside their
communities as well as among the larger society.
Much of the focus of
the Civil Right Movement was on education. Education,
many believed,
would help African Americans to get better jobs and to gain
influence in
American society. But overcoming school segregation, especially in
the
South, meant facing extreme opposition and risking extreme violence. Little
Rock's Central High became an important test.
When the Little Rock Nine
arrived at school that September morning, they
entered the building through
a side door. A white student led them to the
principal's office, where they
were to register for classes. But when the
protesters outside realized the
students had entered the school, they exploded
into violence. Once again,
the Little Rock Nine were forced to leave the school.
But again, they would
not give up. The next day, the Little Rock Nine returned
to Central High,
this time protected by United States Army troops sent by
President Dwight
D. Eisenhower.
For the Little Rock Nine, the battle was only
beginning. Throughout the
school year, they faced physical and verbal
assaults from white students, as
well as death threats against themselves,
their families, and other members of
the black community. And one of the
nine, Minnijean Brown, was expelled from
Central after fighting back
against white students who abused her. But the
following May, Ernest Green
became the first African American student ever to
graduate from Central
High. The courageous actions of the Little Rock Nine had
helped open the
door of education for African Americans all across the
nation.
The Little Rock Nine
They didn't start out being known as the Little Rock Nine but now they are in
America's history books together. Here is a brief glimpse at these former
students and what they are doing today, 40 years after this momentus year.
These nine students are unanimous in proclaiming the true heroes of the
crisis at Central High School were their parents, who supported them and kept
the faith that the process was right and that what they endured would give them
opportunites they deserved
