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In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, California Governor Earl Warren. One year later, on May 17 1954, a Warren court ruling was handed down which stated that segregated educational facilities and institutions violated the U.S. Constitution. As a result, full integration was mandated, paving the way for the civil rights movement.
The state of Arkansas was one of two southern states that immediately announced its intention to comply with the new ruling. The school board of its capital city, Little Rock, agreed that it would comply and prepare to facilitate the gradual integration of the school system. The integration plan would be implemented for the 1958 school year, which would begin in September of 1957, with its high school. It would then follow up with staggered integrations of its junior high and elementary schools in following years.
The NAACP registered nine African American students for the 1958 school year at the all-white, 2000 student Little Rock Central High School. The students were Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Patillo.
The organization had been initiating similar registrations throughout the south, since the Supreme Court ruling. Schools were chosen based upon criteria which measured excellence in areas such as grade average, graduation rates, and attendance.
Then Arkansas Governor, Orval Faubus, began to develop a plan to interrupt the smooth transition of Little Rock's school system toward integration.
On September 2 1957, the night before the first day of school, Faubus called up the Arkansas National Guard to surround Little Rock High School and prevent Black students from entering for classes. The justification that he used, was the protection of citizens and property from potential violence by protestors, if the students were allowed to enter. Several segregationist groups had threatened to hold protests at the school and physically block the students from entering themselves.
The state military deployment, with images of the young teenagers facing both military opposition and hostile protestors, made national headlines. The governor-ordered blockade of the school lasted for ten days, and the attention of the entire country was drawn to what became a national crisis. The unfolding drama was watched by millions on television, and is regarded as the first on-site "breaking news" feature of the modern television era.
After the other eight black students had already been turned away and sent home, the ninth student- Elizabeth Eckford, arrived late and soon learned that she would not be allowed to enter the school. She made the long and terrifying walk, alone, to a bus stop on the corner... to return to her home. She was followed by a hateful mob, who spewed a seemingly endless barrage of racial slurs and profanity, while calmly making her way to the bus stop. She sat on the bench at the stop, surrounded by the mob, until her bus arrived. Much like the rest of the crisis in Little Rock, this scene played out in front of national cameras. Jefferson Thomas recalled sadly watching his tormented classmate on television, after arriving back at home with his mother.
President Eisenhower summoned Faubus to Washington, where he warned him to cease his interference with the Supreme Court's ruling, and end the illegal blockade.
An injunction was filed by the U.S. Justice Department, against Faubus' deployment of the National Guard. The injunction was granted by Judge Ronald Davies; Faubus was forced to withdraw the troops by court order on Friday, September 20.
The Little Rock Nine would face their biggest challenge yet as they prepared to attend school on the following Monday. On September 23, officers from the Little Rock Police Department surrounded the high school and escorted the nine students quietly into the school through a side door, while a crowd of approximately 1000 people (many of whom were protestors and angry parents of white students) gathered in front of it during morning classes.
The crowd began to turn hostile and riotous when they learned that the black teenagers were inside and attending class. As they surged toward the school and threatened to overpower the police, the nine students were escorted out and away from the school before lunchtime.
Woodrow Mays, the mayor of Little Rock, asked for help from U.S. Marshalls. He was accompanied by Arkansas Representative Brooks Hays (D). When they were not able to secure the help that they needed from the Marshalls, they approached President Eisenhower directly. Rep. Hays' role in seeking federal assistance infuriated fellow Democrats. This cost him in his bid for re-election to the House of Representatives in 1958, when he lost to fellow Democrat, Dale Alford (who was backed by Faubus supporters and allies) .
Mayor Mann sent a telegram to President Eisenhower on September 24, requesting troops. Eisenhower responded by dispatching troops immediately, arriving within the day. He also federalized the Arkansas National Guard, which effectively took them out of Faubus' control.
On Wednesday, September 25 1957, the Little Rock Nine attended class under the protection of 1000 paratroopers from the "Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne DIvision - U. S. Army.
The paratroopers left 60 days later, on Thanksgiving Day. The operation was taken over by the Task Force 101st Infantry, an assemblage of guardsmen called from across the state to remain on duty for the rest of the school year, providing daily protection for the black students to enter and leave school safely. Unfortunately, there was no protection for the Little Rock Nine from white students inside of the school.
The black students were subject to verbal and physical abuse on a regular basis from the 2000 member student body, suffering such things as being spat upon, berated, insulted, threatened, punched, tripped, and otherwise physically attacked.
One white student attacked Melba Patillo, by spraying acid into her eyes. Minnijean Brown was surrounded by a group of white male students and berated in the school cafeteria. She was suspended for a week, after dumping a bowl of hot chili upon one of them (this had been done to her in a previous incident, possibly by the same individual). She was again suspended, for the remainder of the school year, following another altercation with a white female student who had attacked her with a purse. There is no record of punishment for the attacker. Minnijean then moved to New York City to live with Drs. Kenneth B. and Mamie Clark, African American psychologists who were sympatheic to the cause of the Little Rock Nine, and sought to assist. Minnijean attended the new defunct New Lincoln School, in Manhattan, where she graduated in 1959.
Despite the intense racial hatred and bigotry exhibited by many of Little Rock Central's students, there were also some that were accepting of the Nine, and showed sympathy.
Ernest Greene was the first to graduate from Little Rock Central; Martin Luther King Jr. sat with his family during commencement ceremonies in May of 1958.
Faubus closed Little Rock Cental for the 1959 school year, to prevent further integration. A federal court ruled this action unconstitutional, and the school was reopened in the fall of 1959, for the 1960 school year. Following the reopening, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls went on to graduate from the school, all nine continuing their education to receive college degrees.
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Ernest Green graduated from Michigan State University, and also holds honorary doctorates from Michigan State University, Tougaloo College, and Central State University. He served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. He is currently a managing partner and vice president of Lehman Brothers in Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Eckford moved to St Louis, after Little Rock Central closing, where she obtained her GED. She attended Knox College in Illinois, and received her BA in History from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. While in college, Ms. Eckford became one of the first African Americans to work in a local St. Louis bank, in a non-janitorial position. Elizabeth made a career of the U.S. Army that included work as a journalist. She is a probation officer for the First Division Circuit Court of Pulaski County, in Arkansas.
Jefferson Thomas entered Wayne State University in Detroit, after graduation, as his family relocated to Southern California. In mid-1961, Mr. Thomas joined his family in Los Angeles, California. There he quickly became active in the NAACP Youth Council as Treasurer, and served as State President of the Progressive Baptist Youth Convention. He attended Los Angeles State College, joined the Student Government, and was elected President of the Associated Engineers. He is now an accountant with the U.S. Department of Defense and lives in Anaheim, Calif.
Dr. Terrence Roberts, following the historic year at Central, moved with his family to Los Angeles where he completed high school. He received a BA in sociology from California State University at Los Angles in 1967. This was followed by an MS in social welfare in 1970 from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1970 and a Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University in 1976. Dr. Roberts is CEO of Terrence J. Roberts & Associates, a management consultant firm devoted to fair and equitable practices. A much sought after speaker and presenter, Dr. Roberts maintains a private psychology practice and lectures and presents workshops and seminars on a wide variety of topics.
Carlotta Walls Lanier attended Michigan State University for two years. In 1968, she graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. Mrs. LaNier is an active supporter of her community, serving on the Board of Trustees for the University of Northern Colorado and Iliff School of Theology. She also serves as president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation and is a member of the Denver Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, and the Johnson Legacy, Inc. Board of Directors. She presently lives in Englewood, Colorado, where she owns a real estate company.
Minnijean Brown Trickey attended Southern Illinois University and studied journalism. She received a Bachelor of Social Work in Native Human Services from Laurentian University and Master of Social Work at Carleton University, in Ontario Canada. She currently resides in Little Rock, and is the Shipley Visiting Writer for Heritage Studies at Arkansas State University Her daughter, Spirit, is the public information officer for the National Park Service, and works at the Little Rock Central High School Historic Landmark and Museum.
Gloria Ray Karlmark went on to graduate from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, after which she joined the IIT Research Institute as Assistant Mathematician on the APT IV Project (robotics, numerical control, and online technical documentation). This included work at Boeing in Seattle, McDonnell-Douglas in Santa Monica, and NASA Automation center in St. Louis. She was a prolific computer science writer and at one time successfully published magazines in 39 countries. Now retired, she divides her time between homes in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Stockholm, where her husband's family lives.
Thelma Mothershed-Wair graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 1964, earning a degree in Home Economics Education. She earned her Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling, as well as an Administrative Certificate in Education from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. She worked in the East St. Louis school system for 28 years, including 10 as a Home Economics teacher, and 18 as a counselor for elementary career education, before retiring in 1994. Mrs. Wair has also worked at the St. Clair County Jail, Juvenile Detention Center in St. Clair County, Illinois, and was an instructor of survival skills for women at the American Red Cross Shelter for the homeless.
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Read more information in Dee Woods' blog, about the "Wrightsville 21" - a mysterious series of events surrounding a horrific fire that occurred in the dormitory of a negro boys school, during the year of Governor Faubus' Little Rock school closings.
The case is still unsolved.
http://blackhistory.com/cgi-bin/blog.cgi?blog_id=133676&cid=10
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Sources:
Little Rock Central High Historical Website: http://www.centralhigh57.org/
Little Rock Nine Foundation: http://www.littlerock9.org
Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.org
San Antonio News Little Rock Nine 50th Anniversary Article: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA092307_01A_LittleRockanniversary_352a293_html3803.html
Minnijean Brown Trickey Homepage: http://www.minnijean.com
African American Registry: http://www.aaregistry.org
Teachers Domain Article on Melba Patillo Beals: http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/iml04.soc.ush.civil.beals/
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Article: http://www.arkansasonline.com/central/
Posted Thursday, February 19th 2009 at 2:11PM
by: Michael Canaan
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