Everybody Deserves Equality

Throughout the American South, of many Negro’s childhood, the system of segregation determined the patterns of life. Blacks attended separate schools from whites, were barred from pools and parks where whites swam and played, from cafes and hotels where whites ate and slept. On sidewalks, they were expected to step aside for whites. It took a brave person to challenge this system, when those that did suffered a white storm of rancour. Affronting this hatred, with assistance from the Federal Government, were nine courageous school children, permitted into the 1957/8 school year at Little Rock Central High. The unofficial leader of this band of students was Ernest Green.

In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the

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

The United States has become the nation it is today due to several disputes on equality. These disputes have led to the creation of many documents that represent the equality and rights that should be given to every American. An example of two U.S seminal documents are the Economic Bill of Rights and the Brown vs. the Board of Education; these documents not only represent the fights on equality, but both authors use literary devices in order to persuade the reader that their argument is valid.

Author: Benjamin Fine Article title: Arkansas Troops Bar Negro Pupils; Governor Defiant Newspaper: The New York Times Publisher: The New York Times Date: September 4, 1957 Accessed date: February 28, 2014 Description This newspaper article was posted on NY-Times.com. It reports on the first day of integration at Central High School.

If the Little Rock Nine wasn't integrating then the press / media would have nothing to share with the world. The media mostly ask questions like “What do you think about going to school at Central High?” and “How the students treating you there?”. When the media shared the information about the Little Rock Nine somehow the segregationists found out where Melba lived and threatened to kill her, trying to scare her from going to Central High, to keep power. The Little Rock Nine gave the media something to write about and to share Nationwide, which made others appreciate what the Little Rock Nine was going

The Supreme Court planned to desegregate schools. “In September 1957, nine black teenagers hoped to break a racial wall at a school in Little Rock, Arkansas.” (Benson 1). Ernest Green, Minnijean Brown, Melba Pattillo, Terrence Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford, Thelma Mothershed, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls were the students who became the little rock nine. (Lucas 7). Daisy Bates planned to help them get to school. (Lucas 5). “Many White Southern Parents did not want the black students to go school with white children.” (Lucas 13). All the black students were excited for the first day of school. (Lucas 12).

Throughout our nation’s history, there are many instances where a certain group or individual expressed their courageousness by voicing their opinions to make our world a better place. Their willingness and determination to change society for the better good of the people showcase their tremendous courageous qualities that are not present in everyone. A powerful example of courageous acts that greatly impacted our nation are the Little Rock Nine students from Little Rock, Arkansas. As you probably know in the mid-1900s, almost all public schools were segregated, meaning there was a separate school for white kids and a separate school for black kids. In Ben Cosgrove’s Time Magazine article titled “Brave Hearts: Remembering the Little Rock Nine”, he talks about the nine brave African-American teenagers who risked their lives in order to attend Little Rock Central High School, an all-white public school. Because segregation in the southern schools was so prominent, many citizens of the south were outraged

Ever since Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, African-Americans had been Republican. The GOP was the party of Lincoln, the party that had given them the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. The Republican Party supported blacks, whereas the Democrat Party was the party of the South, and the Southern, White plantation owner. To the black community, the Republican Party represented "the high-minded, idealistic, God-fearing people," whereas Democrats "dabbled in influence-peddling and vice" (Weiss 1983: 3). All blacks knew where to lay their loyalties -- with the party

As the state elections of 1898 approached, the Fusion party was not thriving as well as it had been, when preparing for the last election. The Democratic party was preparing to defeat the Republicans in the election and were being led by Furnifold Simmons, the party chairman. He did a great deal of organizing and campaigning in an attempt to have Democrats regain power over the city. Simmons worked hard to prevent “negro denomination”, a fear that many white segregationists had at the time, they worried that if African Americans gained too much power in government, eventually they would take over. In reality, African Americans only wanted a say in how they were governed and wanted to be treated equally under the law. To conquer this fear that many white Democrats possessed, they planned to take over the government and run any influential African Americans out of town, to somewhere that they would no longer influence and encourage people to stand up for equal

For one, African American leaders in the ‘90s to the ‘20s attempted to end the disenfranchisement of African Americans, done through poll taxes and literacy tests, by advocating their cause in the more sympathetic North. Later, in the fifties and the sixties, these same goals, enlign poll taxes and literacy tests, were once again fought for by African American leaders, through advocacy and agitation. This shows a major similarity as they wanted to achieve the same things. Furthermore, during the nineties to the twenties, leaders of African Americans sought to end segregation in the South, as caused by Plessy v. Ferguson. Similarly, African American leaders from the fifties to the sixties also fought for the end of segregation, in cases such as Brown v. Board of Education. This shows a significant similarity in that both time periods’ leaders attempted to achieve the goal of ending

For example, Melba Patillo was kicked, pounded, and even had acid thrown in her face. There was also an occurrence when white students burned an African American effigy in an empty lot across the school. Gloria Ray was pushed down a staircase and the Little Rock Nine were not allowed to take part in extracurricular activities. Minnijean Brown got expelled in February 1958 for getting even with the attackers. The students were not the only ones who faced harassment. When Ray’s mother refused to take her daughter out of the school, she was fired from her job with the State of Arkansas (3, pages 4-5). The only senior of the Little Rock Nine, Ernest Green, was the first African American graduate at Central High School (1, page

The Little Rock 9 were just normal black kids, but back in their time, no black kids were normal. There were no black kids allowed in any school except for the raggedy ones that were built for them. They didn’t get what the “normal” people got. White was the only thing that these people knew back then. White was the only “right” thing. These nine black kids were the first kids to try and attend the Central High School in Little Rock, AR (that is where they got the name from “Little Rock” 9) .

In the 1940‘s racial segregation gripped southern American life. The notion of separating blacks from whites created immense tension. Separate water fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, etc. were variables that helped keep races apart. “Jim Crow” laws in the south were intended to prevent blacks from voting. These laws, combined with the segregated educational system, instilled the sense that blacks were “separate” but not equal (174). Many people of color weren‘t able to survive through this time period because of the actions of whites. One individual who overcame the relentless struggles was Ralph Ellison. Ellison, a famous author, depicted racial segregation in the 1940’s through a fictional short story entitled “Battle Royal.” Battle

The author, Kristin Levine, used several facts and details from history in their book Lions of Little Rock. The first similarity between the book and the historical accounts is that ¨Governor Faubus closed all high schools because he did not want to desegregate schools¨. In the book, it states ¨Only the high schools are closed¨and in the historical account Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, it states ¨The following year Faubus closed all high school¨. This shows how the author used true facts in their novel. The second similarity between the book and the historical account is Students weren't always concerned about attending schools with black students, they just wanted to