Governor Orval Faubus

The state and town passed laws and ordinances as the school year drew near in order to keep the school from integrating. Even the state governor refused for the desegregation process to happen without resistance. Some blacks also opposed the desegregation for fear of future repercussions. The nine brave students, however, refused to be stopped.

The people of color weren’t getting the same treatment as the Caucasian people. They weren’t even getting the same textbooks, they got outdated textbooks that were irrelevant compared to the newer ones the white kids would get. They didn’t get school supplies if they did it was very limited, maybe a pencil or even a notebook if they were lucky. Brown saw this very clearly so he decided it was time to take this to court. He went to the Supreme Court, his argument was supported by the fourteenth amendment, “The history of the Fourteenth Amendment is inconclusive as to its intended effect on public education.”, because it was separating children only for there race. Brown won his case which was revolutionary and a year later the government implemented a rule were the federal district courts had to supervise the school to see if they were segregating the children because of race.

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 multiple forces in favor of integration were determined to gain access to Central High School and integrate public schools in the south. Before any integration was possible in the United States, the NAACP, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was forced to file a lawsuit in the Federal District Court to integrate public schools immediately due to the public and state backlash towards integration (Beals 20). Judge Ronald Davies declared that Governor Faubus had “thwarted the court-approved plan of integration” furthering the movement to integrate Central High (Beals 68). After the lawsuit was settled, the Little Rock Nine was scheduled to integrate into Central High School. However, even after these

The events in the Cooper v. Aaron happen right after Brown v. Board of Education. To summarize the Arkansas governor and state legislature were displeased with the Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board of Education and refused to cooperate with the courts orders to implement desegregation of the state’s schools. The Brown v. Board declared that the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution did not permit the states from segregating students in their public schools based on their skin color. The governor and legislature insisted that state government officials had no duty to cooperate with court orders based on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the constitution. The school board of Little Rock, Arkansas needed to carry out a program of desegregation.

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).

The Brown vs. Board of Education Doctrine states, “ We conclude in the field of Education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. THIS REQUIRED THE DESEGREGATION OF SCHOOLS ACROSS AMERICA.

Orval Fabus was born in 1910, at Huntsville, Arkansas. He is the governor of Arkansas. He was a big part in the Little Rock nine. A lot of people in the north strongly dislike him. He was supposed to let the nine students into the school, but instead he told the Arkansas National Gaurd not let them walk into the school. President Dwight Eisenhower took Fabus power away from the Arkansas National Guard. A few days later he sent the 101st airborne troops. He strongly didn't want to integrate schools because he knew soon everywhere would start to integrate.

The desegregation of public facilities began with the decision of Brown vs Board of Education in 1954, where the Supreme Court of the United States deemed segregation unlawful and unconstitutional. The country was told that desegregation was to take place "with all deliberate speed". This angered the white community. Violent retaliation was the means used to prevent the integration of blacks into various public facilities. In fact, the Autherine Lucy case demonstrated to the entire country that violent mobs could halt integration demanded by a federal court order. However, three years later, the Little Rock Crisis would affirm that if provoked by mobs, the executive

The governor of Arkansas used the National Guard to stop nine black children enrolling at Little Rock high school, even against the wishes of the Supreme Court. When faced with court action, the governor withdrew the National Guard but left the black teenagers exposed to a violent mob, determined to keep all blacks from entering the former white – only school. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent armed paratroopers to protect the small number of black students as they attended school for the next year. It was not just in schools that segregation was present.

ixty years ago, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, became a flashpoint in the nascent civil-rights movement when Governor Orval Faubus refused to abide by the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Faubus famously deployed the state’s National Guard to prevent nine African-American students from attending classes at the high school. In the midst of the crisis, a high-school journalist interviewing Louis Armstrong about an upcoming tour asked the musician about his thoughts on the situation, prompting Armstrong to refer to the Arkansas governor as several varieties of “motherfucker.” (In the interest of finding a printable quote, his label for Faubus was changed to “ignorant plowboy.”) Armstrong, who was scheduled

Melba Beals says that “Governor Orval Faubus announced his refusal to support the integration of our state’s schools” (1994). To keep the nine students out of Central High School, he calls in the Arkansas National Guard, which is commanded by the State of Arkansas. Just imagine you’re going to school and upon arrival you see soldiers with guns trying to keep you out. One would not want to be anywhere near that school.

His main argument was that segregated schools that were mandated by the Board of Education, were unconstitutional because they denied the black children “equal protection of the laws” that are granted by the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution. Chief Justice Earl Warren agreed with Marshall and by a unanimous decision on May 17th, 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that the on an almost one hundred and fifty year old decision that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional (Henretta 840). In response to this landmark decision Arkansas governor Orval Faubus did not want to follow the courts decision of the desegregation of schools across America. Faubus called the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine African Americans from joining an all white school. In response to this President Eisenhower who showed little interest in the civil rights movement became the first president since Reconstruction to use federal troops to enforce the rights of blacks when he called in one thousand federal troops and ten thousand nationalized members of the Arkansas National Guard to protect the students (Henretta 842)

He was an avid advocate for the rights of African Americans.He was very dedicated to making sure that African American had a right to vote, could use public facilities, and could attend public schools. During a speech in 1961, he committed to civil rights for all citizens of the United States. "We will not stand by or be aloof. We will move. I happen to believe that the 1954 [Supreme Court school desegregation] decision was right. But my belief does not matter. It is the law. Some of you may believe the decision was wrong. That does not matter. It is the law." In 1962 he sent US Marshals to make sure that African American students could go to the University of Mississippi (Alden Whitman, 2001).

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