The Inequality Of Segregation Of Schools

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

(Lucas 31). Most white students didn’t pay attention to them, but others bullied them. (Lucas 32). Minnijean Brown one day lost her temper, and got expelled. On Sept. 1958 the supreme court ruled that all Little Rock public schools would be shut down that year. The Little Rock Nine received International Acclaim for their courage.Ernest Green was the first black student to graduate from Central high. Even though they broke a racial wall; the little rock nine didn’t bring immediate gains for civil rights. (Benson 2).

Governor Faubus and majority of the white population did not support the integration of schools and believed that it would spark violence. Federal judge Richard Davies issued that there will be no change to the integration of Central High School and removed the Arkansas National Guard from the school. The first day of Central High School for these courageous nine colored students was September 4, 1957, but they didn’t start their full day of school until September 25, 1957. Bates drove the Little Rock nine to school but Elizabeth Eckford did not receive the carpool plans, so she arrived alone. Every day as the students went to school there would be a mob of up to one thousand apoplectic white men and women continuously harassing the Little Rock Nine from entering the school. On September 25, 1957, the Little Rock Nine started their first full day of class and the rest of the school year with twelve hundred troops of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division that President D. Eisenhower ordered to control 10,000 National Guardsman on

The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. Their attendance at the school was a test of Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. On September 4, 1957, the first day of classes at Central High, Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard to block the black students’ entry into the high school. Later that month, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, on May 17, 1954. Involved in the 14th Amendment, the decision declared all laws instating segregated schools to be unlawful, and it called for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. After the decision, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, the Little Rock School Board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools, submitted a plan of measured integration to the school board on May 24, 1955, which the board unanimously ratified. The plan would be implemented during the fall of the 1957 school year.

One “key event” of the American Civil Rights Movement occurred when nine African- American students enrolled in an all- white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 4, 1957. (History). Although, in 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public school was unconstitutional, integration was not common at the time and many people were upset with the changes including the governor, Orval Faubus (History). This essay will present information on the life and achievements of the students that were apart of the Little Rock Nine.

Soldiers gave a sense of hope to the Little Rock Nine as stated by Minnijean Brown “For the first time in my life I feel like an American Citizen” (“Miller 59”). The soldiers became a symbol of acceptance of the integration efforts. They helped assure the Little Rock Nine students in their actions, made them feel secure that they were fighting for equality, and that the integration was even worth fighting for. During the turmoil, two harsh groups formed: the Capital Citizens Council and the Mother’s League of Central High School which served to promote segregation (“Integration” 2). These two groups became a challenge that strengthened the Negro students, because no praiseworthy battles are without a commendable opposing side. On the side of the segregationists, it united them together as a group. Furthermore, A report by The New York Times was issued on September 25, 1957, which explained that several of the African-American students had a positive first day of school, but others were routinely harassed and violence occurred throughout the remainder of the year (“Integration” 4). Thus proving, desegregation was not a pointless effort. It was conceivable for these students to successfully integrate and people were open for change. This is another example of how the media focuses on the negativity of a situation. One student, in particular, effectively changed and is historically remembered as an African-American hero; Ernest Green. Green was Central’s first black student to graduate on May 27th in 1958 (“LRNE” 2). He proved his skin color did not limit him, and he was as capable as the white students to receive a diploma. He inspired the remaining eight Little Rock Nine students and other people of color. Finally, African-Americans were impending at acquiring one of the most basic human rights: the right to an

The road to the historic desegregation of Little Rock Central High school began in the 1930’s when the NAACP tasked future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall with fighting segregation in schools. By 1950 he had helped to strike down segregation in universities in several states. In 1951, the NAACP aided parents of black children attending public schools in Topeka, Kansas in attempting to overturn the state’s segregation laws. After a three year court battle, the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education Topeka culminated in the abolishment of school segregation laws in 21 states. (Seeds 1)

In 1982, racial segregation in public schools began over the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson’s, “separate but equal” doctrine, that lasted until the early 1950’s. This precedent legally enabled “separate” facilities for black students and white students as long as they were “equal”. During the turn of the 19th century, the term “Jim Crow” was used to refer to African Americans. This term would later be used as the name of the laws that kept African Americans from public functions and places. It would not be until 1954, that the “separate but equal” doctrine would be changed for good.

During the late nineteen fifties, the Supreme Court made a shocking ruling in a case called Brown v. Board of Education that created an uproar all across the country: segregation in schools was now illegal. Blacks and whites were finally allowed to learn together and were enthusiastic to receive a higher quality education in better schools. However, not everyone was in favor of this new law. Governor Orval Faubus of Little Rock, Arkansas, repudiated the new desegregation law and called the National Guard to ward off nine African American students from enrolling themselves in what used to be an all white high school on September 4, 1957 (Anderson 2). This historical event was known as the Little Rock Nine and was notable because the nine African

Arkansas Little Rock, United States. Central High School was the site of forced school desegregation after the US Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that segregation of public school was unconstitutional. This was during the period of heightened activism in the American Civil Rights Movement. Central is located at the intersection Daisy L. Gaston Bates Drive (named for the civil right reader and formerly known as 14th Street) and park street

Little rock nine is the group of students the help integrate schools. Following the court case Brown V. Topeka Board of Education 1957, which argued that separate but equal public schools went against the fourteenth amendment. Brown won the case and the court ruled to integrate schools. September 25, 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas a group of nine African American students attended their classes at Little Rock Central high school. Unfortunately, the majority of the people did not want schools to integrate and tried to stop them from entering the school.

However, this became a major problem because not everyone agreed with the abolishment of segregation from the constitution. Events in the town of Little Rock reveal another example of southern resistance to integrated education. The NAACP sent nine students to the Little Rock School but was stopped by the Governor of Arkansas, Orval E. Faubas who had no intention of agreeing with the Brown Verdict because he was against the idea of desegregation. He attempted to prevent the process of allowing those students into the school but was successfully beaten by President Eisenhower.

US Supreme Court deems segregation unconstitutional following the case of Brown VS Board of Education of Topeka. On May 17, 1954, the supreme court ordered all schools to integrate. The supreme court announces a second ruling ordering all public schools to be integrated "with all deliberate speed" (qtd. in History.com Staff. "Integration"), following the widespread resistance to the original integration orders. The first school to be integrated was Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 4, 1957. The integration of Central High School transformed education in America by being the first school to be integrated, opening the door for other schools to integrate, and gaining equality in education.