Little Rock Nine: Their Struggles and How They Can be Applied to Us Today

In 1954 the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. During the 1950s, "...civil rights groups set up legal and political,

It was a brutal time for the Little Rock Nine. Ernest Green and 8 other colored teenagers were transferring to an all-white school, Little Rock High School, because they wanted a better education, but the high schoolers there were very racist. For example, when Ernest and his brother went to take a shower after gym class, a couple of white boys hiding in the showers placed broken glass all over the floor. So when Ernest stepped in, the broken glass pieces cut his feet very badly and he was bleeding viciously. When the boys went up to the gym teacher to tell him, he saw the white boys in the shower room hiding and he let it go.(Laneuville) This was very racist because ever since the nine black teens got there, they have been nothing but mean to them just because they are racist jerks who have no respect for these kids just ∞because of the color of their

The five reports of school segregation separately went to local courts with no avail. The cases then appealed to the Supreme Court, where they were pooled under the title “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas”. (Good, 31, 32) (Davidson et al. 850)

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

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.

What was Little Rock Nine? It was a group of nine African American's who had enrolled to an all-white school in September of 1957. In 1954 Little Rock, Arkansas supreme court had passed the bill that segregation in public schools would be considered "unconstitutional". On September 4, 1957 was the first day at Central High. Orval Faubus (governor) had called for Arkansas National Guard to convoyer all the "black" students from entering the school. During that month President Dwight D. Eisenhower went and sent federal troops to help sheild the "Little Rock Nine" into the school.

Segregation is often an issue that people see as an issue that plagued America many decades ago but that is not true at all. In “The Next Kind of Integration” the author Emily Bazelon talks about a Supreme Court case that talks about a decision to not allowed schools to be segregated. The first sentence of the article says, “In June of

The Little Rock Nine volunteer to enter the segregated high school they had a choice, the choice of entering the high school. The Little Rock Nine volunteer to enter the segregated high school they knew risks if they agree to enter high school. The Little Rock Nine was chosen because of their excellence grades and perfect attendance, the NAACP thought they would be great for integrating into segregated high school but they had faced tons of issues. One of the many problems was that the Little Rock Nine were stopped by angry riots and officers that were ordered by the governor of Arkansas, president Eisenhower had to send the National Guard to escort the Little Rock Nine into the high school. The Little Rock Nine had faced tremendous amounts of discrimination in the high school, they had to endure being called racial slurs and possibly being physically harm. What the Little Rock Nine did change our society we wouldn’t have different races in our schools or have a teacher that is a different race. There is still discrimination and forms of exclusion in schools that still exist. Discrimination and forms of exclusion in schools still exist in today’s modern society and it is affecting our

On September 1958 one year after Central High was integrated, Governor Faubus closed down Little Rock’s high schools for the entire year, pending a public vote to prevent African Americans from attending. At the end Little Rock citizens voted 19,470 against integration, to 7,561 and therefore the schools remained closed. After this happened none of the other Little ROck Nine stayed at Central High, instead the rest of the Little Rock Nine completed the year in other high schools across the country, and the Little Rock high schools didn’t reopen until in August

Board case was implemented and declared that racial discrimination in schools was unconstitutional. (Jim Highland, 2010, p.76). The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) contributed to The Little Rock Nine by having them partake in sit-ins in the 1960s. Highland, 2010, p.32-35). A member of SNCC, Arlene Dunn, said she was shocked to see angry white mobs and the Arkansas National Guard not allowing Little Rock Nine to enter the school. (Arlene Dunn, My Arkansas Journey) This form of non-violent protest encouraged students to get involved in the political process. Since 1999, members of the foundation still advance their cause to financially and mentally support principled students in need, and their contributions lead them to winning the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999 for their wonderful service in society. (Little Rock Nine Foundation) As a journalist, these would be pretty important events and people for me to take note

On September 4th, 1957, Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to Little Rock Central High school, preventing any of the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High. Elizabeth Eckford was the only student that went to school on this day because of a lack of communication with the other students. She arrived at the school alone and was antagonized by the angry mob. “At first she felt reassured when she saw the troops, whom she assumed were there to protect her…When she tried to squeeze past a guard, ‘He raised his bayonet, and then the other guards moved in.’” One can only imagine what Eckford felt like, being completely alone in a mob of people screaming “Lynch her!”, only to realize the people you thought were there to protect you were actually not. The students finally were able to enter the school on September 23rd, 1957. But the fight was not over. The Little Rock Nine continued to face extreme harassment, both physical and verbal. Melba Pattillo recounted many of these incidents in her book, Warriors Don’t Cry. One that stuck out the most was when she recounted going to bathroom, the one place her guard could not join her, and having girls “scratch and giggle” outside the door. She writes, “ I promised myself I would drink less water so I wouldn’t have to take that risk so often.” Her stories of the vulgar language and the harassment when the guard was or wasn’t around, shows the extreme condition she faced trying to make a charge for her generation. She compares her experience in Central High to being soldier, just trying to survive. Another factor that created this environment for the Little Rock Nine was the lack of discipline of students by teachers. Pattillo writes about how her friend Minnijean Brown had faith in school officials, faith that they would step in. “She continued to count on them to respond with compassion to

Another win for African Americans was in 1954, with the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, where the Supreme Court called segregation unconstitutional and consequently banned it. This was only the ending of a 16 year struggle for the ruling out of segregation. The abolishment of segregation in public schools did not rely exclusively on this case, but as well as on other cases which contributed to this ban. The case of Brown v. Board of Education was said to have been divided into two cases known as Brown I and Brown II. The Brown I case, was the 1954 abolishment of segregation, in 1955 Brown II, “held local school districts responsible for implementing Brown I and ordered them to desegregate schools ‘with all deliberate speed,’” (Unger). In previous years before the Brown cases, the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP), were accountable for the pro anti-segregation cases against school boards in

Legally segregation ended with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended in the form of race, color, religion, gender, or race. Then in 2008, the first Black American was elected President. It’s common to hear that America has made great progress in the eradication of racism in the nation. Thankfully the days where

Just two years after the death of Charles Houston, segregation/Jim Crow was finally put to the test in the historic case of Brown v. Board of Education. The case began when Reverend Brown and various NAACP members fought to put their children in the close white schools, which led to Brown v. Board of Education. On December 9, 1952, the case was in effect and for seventeen months segregation hung in the balance.

On september 2, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus summons the 101st “screaming Eagles” to surround Central High School and stop any attempts by the nine black students to enter the school. Faubus announces in one of his public television speeches that, “The orders are a proactive approach to prevent violence to all citizens and property and to preserve the peace.”