Lessons from the "Little Rock Nine" Essay

On September 3, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Jefferson Thomas, Minnijean Brown (Trickey), Carlotta Walls (LaNier), Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray (Karlmark), Thelma Mothershed-Wair, and Melba Patillo Beals set off for school. The governor of Arkansas, Orvel Faubus, had sent National Guardsmen to the school the previous day to surround the building and keep all African-Americans from entering its doors. He stated in an interview that the reason for the troops was he heard a rumor that white supremacists were going to riot and he was just protecting the students. He declared Central High off-limits to all people of color "in order for their own protection". The students never did make it into school that day. Before they even reached the property they were met with great resistance from racist citizens who spat upon them, mocked them, threw sharp objects at them, and even physically beat them. Melba describes the deep hurt she felt as for the first time in her life she saw

“If…he hoped to outbluff the former Allied supreme commander in World War II by barking commands at state reserve units, the governor was out of his depth,” said Robert Weisbrot in Freedom Bound: A History of America’s Civil Rights Movement. President Dwight D. Eisenhower the former supreme commander wasn’t going to let Faubus defy the federal government. Eisenhower met with Faubus to make sure that Faubus would do what the federal government ordered. After their meeting, Faubus made no attempt to fix anything which caused Eisenhower to federalize the National Guard and to send the 101st Airborne Division to protect the nine African American students. The soldiers escorted the African American students into Central High and to all their classes.

It attracted so much attention that President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened. President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to make sure that Daisy and the children remained safe. The students names were Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls. On September 4, 1957, the students were turned away by troops and the Arkansas National Guard refused them entry. On September 23, 1957, police officers escorted the children into Central High School unnoticed but not long after the mob outside of the school got angry and realized what had happened. The students were continuously harassed by their peers but they were granted the right to attend

Did you know that without the Little Rock Nine our schools might still be segregated. The Little Rock Nine were the first black students to attend a white school. Parents and the Governor of Arkansas tried to keep the schools segregated. President Eisenhower found out of this, and sent help to the black students. With the white parents and governor against the; The Little Rock Nine affected the school system with the help of President Eisenhower.

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

On September 25, 1957 nine courageous children risked their lives to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Due to resistance by the state government and public hostility, federal troops were necessary to let nine African American children attend the school. Although the Supreme Courts Landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education cut down racial segregation in public schools, it was the actions of these nine young kids of school integration that tested the strength of that decision.

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

On September 25, 1957, Nine african american students entered Central High and made it through a whole day. They are called, “The Little Rock nine.” The names of the students are Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, and Melba Pattillo Beals. These nine had a hard time getting through the mobs of people, but they made it the front doors of Central High. They volunteered themselves to try

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.

They showed that to get to where they needed to be and make a change, they would have to keeping pushing to make progress. Each student individually helped to take a stand. One example of this was Minnijean Brown standing up for herself while at school. “Minnie had taken this chili and dumped it on this dude’s head. There was absolute silence in the place, and then the help, all black, broke into applause. And the white kids, the other white kids there didn’t know what to do. It was the first time that anybody, I’m sure, had seen somebody black retaliate in that sense” (Facing History and Ourselves). These students that made up the Little Rock Nine set strong examples to the rest of the black community. They helped stand up for their community and strengthen their rights as human beings. To speak out against oppression and injustice. And to fight for what they believe is right, no matter the color of their

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

Over thousands of blacks were discriminated in the 1950s because of their skin color. Blacks and whites were prohibited to go to the same school just because of their skin color. However, in the year of 1957 the Little Rock Nine were the first nine black students that integrated to Central High. If this group of people didn’t have the courage to attend Central High our schools would be extremely different today.

Little Rock Nine was the first group to integrate to an all white school, Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Members involved in the group were Melba Pattillo, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Minnijean Brown, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls Lanier, Jefferson Thomas, Gloria Ray, and Thelma Mothershed. These nine kids were those chosen amongst 80 to attend Little Rock Central High School. Angry white mobs that were against integrating all white schools physically and verbally abused Little Rock Nine .

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

America has had quite a history. Moreover, America has had a distinct history concerning racial differences. From the Civil War to the Civil Rights Act, America has showed past that is unforgettable. However, America has showed a history concerning African Americans that still show up in our present today. The Little Rock Nine, staged in 1957, proves that we are not that far away from our previous actions against a different race. In the American heritage and main structure of government, it says that all men are created equal. This paper will tell of the Little Rock Nine and their struggle, and how it has changed America for the better.