In a key event of the american civil rights movement, nine black students enrolled at the formerly all-white central high school in little rock, arkansas, in september 1957. they were testing a u. s. supreme court ruling, the decision to the case brown v. board of education, which said that all public schools in the country had to be integrated. however, on the first day of classes at central high, arkansas governor orval faubus called in the state national guard. the troops kept the black students from entering the school. later, president dwight d. eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the “little rock nine” into the school. they started their first full day of classes on september 25.
history of school integration in the u. s.
in its brown v. board of education decision, the supreme court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. until then, many states had segregation laws, requiring african-american and white children to attend separate schools. resistance to the ruling was so widespread that the court issued a second decision in 1955. known as brown ii, it ordered school districts to move ahead with integration.
in response to the court decisions and pressure from the local chapter of the national association for the advancement of colored people (naacp), the little rock school board adopted a plan for gradual integration. the first to integrate would be the high schools, beginning in september 1957. several local groups formed to oppose the plan.
little rock nine recruited
despite the opposition, nine students registered to be the first african-americans to attend central high school. minnijean brown, elizabeth eckford, ernest green, thelma mothershed, melba patillo, gloria ray, terrence roberts, jefferson thomas and carlotta walls had been recruited by daisy gaston bates. she was president of the arkansas naacp. bates and others examined the group of students and determined they had the strength to handle the resistance they would encounter. the students had counseling sessions on what to expect when classes began and how to respond to hostile situations.
on september 2, 1957, faubus announced that he would call in the arkansas national guard to keep the african-american students out of central high. he claimed this was for the students’ own protection. on television, faubus said that violence might break out if black students were allowed in. federal judge richard davies issued a ruling that integration would continue.
students turned away by state troops
the little rock nine arrived for the first day of school on september 4. eight arrived together, driven by bates. eckford’s family, however, did not have a telephone, and bates could not reach her to let her know of the carpool plans, so eckford arrived alone. one of the most enduring images from the day is a photograph of eckford, notebook in hand, approaching the school as a crowd of hostile and screaming white students and adults surrounds her. eckford later recalled that one of the women spat on her. the photo of eckford was printed and broadcast widely, gaining national and international attention.
the arkansas national guard kept the little rock nine from entering the school. davies began legal action against faubus, and eisenhower tried to persuade the governor to let the students in. davies ordered the national guard removed, and the little rock police department took over to maintain order. the police escorted the nine african-american students into the school on september 23, through an angry mob of some 1,000 white protesters. as riots began, the police removed the nine students. the next day, eisenhower sent in 1,200 members of the u. s. army and placed them in charge of the 10,000 national guardsmen on duty. escorted by the troops, the little rock nine attended their first full day of classes on september 25.
legal challenges to integration continued. faubus said several times that he wanted the little rock nine removed from central high. although several of the black students had positive experiences on their first day, they faced harassment and even violence later. patillo was kicked and beaten and had acid thrown in her face, and ray was pushed down a flight of stairs. the army and national guard troops remained at the school for the rest of the year.
on may 25, 1958, green, the only senior among the nine, became the first african-american graduate of central high.
what strategy does the writer use that is effective for the reader? use specific examples from the text to support your thoughts.