The Little Rocks Nine Research Paper

Alabama was often the epicenter of civil rights activism and steadfast perseverance for African Americans during the 1960s. It is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led his congregation and where four little girls were murdered and 22 citizens were injured when the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed. It is also where Dr. King and other activists planned the march on Washington, where he and others leaders like John Lewis were met with violence but ultimately claimed victory in the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965. And who could forget the powerful images of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963, where young, non-violent protesters were met with high-power water hoses, beaten with batons and threatened by police

For this oral history paper, Judy Barnhill was interviewed to convey her experiences during her childhood and adolescent years relating to African American history. She was born in 1945, and she is a white American woman. This paper will be discussing the time periods of Jim Crow segregation, the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation. Jim Crow segregation began during the late 1800’s and continued on until about the 1960’s. It was a time of racial tension and inequality. Many southern states of the time would enforce local laws of segregation on African Americans, which would separate them from the whites in public places such as schools, restaurants, trains, bathrooms, etc. The facilities set up for African Americans were always

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.

The Elaine Race Riot can be even said as the Elaine massacre that had taken place on September 30, 1919, in Elaine in Phillips County, Arkansas, in the Arkansas Delta. The fight started when around 100 African Americans, commonly black farmers on the farms of white landlords joined a consultation of the Progressive Farmers and the Household Union of America at a church in Hoop Spur, the Phillips County that was three miles north of Elaine. The assembly was managed by Robert Hill; he was the organizer of the Progressive Farmers and the Household Union of America. The main goal of the meeting was that one of the numerous black sharecroppers in the Elaine area during the former months was achieving better payments for their cotton crops from the white farm owners who conquered the area during the Jim Crow’s era.

Early in the 1950s education in Mississippi was segregated. The Brown versus Board education decision caused complete panic in Mississippi due to the fact that it challenged everything Mississippi had ever known. Throughout the state opinions and reactions carried, but in Sunflower county the opinion of prominent whites were clear: Blacks would not be welcome in schools with their children. Two months after the Brown vs Board decision was announced the first Indianola County Citizens Council was held. At this first meeting men of power met to discuss how they were going to stop blacks from organizing in their county. “Herman Moore, president of the Indianola Bank, open the convocation; “This meeting should have been held 30 years ago.. when it was noticeable that the Negro was organizing.”(Moye65) this statement set the tone for how a whole

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

Governor Orval Faubus was a huge national image of racial segregation in 1957. Faubus commanded the Arkansas National Guardsmen to deny entrance of nine African American students, called The Little Rock Nine, to Central High School. In 1958, Governor Faubus delivered a speech, speaking about school integration. In his speech, he states, “ Those who would integrate our schools at any price are still among us”.1 Faubus is insinuating that, the people who are against the

In 1957 was a very different times for blacks and whites. At the time there were big separation between blacks and whites because of how people judging by color and not character of the person. Because of those action the event of Elizabeth Eckford was brutally was harassed and bullied by Hazel Bryan and huge crowd made of white families and students who goes to Little Rock Central High School. From Hazel and Elizabeth event we can learn that things changes in the future.

As whites and blacks both went to the fields and worked on plantations, racial issues arose due to the competition of jobs. Whites were afraid that the blacks were going to take their jobs. The majority of night riding, white capping, and lynching occurred during the Reconstruction era, but many highly publicized lynchings still occurred during the Progressive period. Throughout “Nightriding and Racial Cleansing in the Arkansas Valley,” the majority of the cases of night riding involved whites harming blacks because they were scared that they were attempting to steal their job from them. The whites tried everything they could to drive the blacks out of their towns and counties so the threat of them taking their jobs would vacate. In one instance, white townspeople went to a farm and took the farmers fence and posts and would not return them until he had fired or gotten rid of all the black hired hands. The color line within the state was a huge challenge that the communities of Arkansas encountered throughout the Progressive

1877-1960’s in our country is something to be remembered. It was a time of segregation, not only forced by the government, but enforced by the KKK as well. The Compromise of 1877, Jim Crow law, and Plessy v Fergusson were the events that shaped us into the nation we are today.

African-Americans encountered many difficulties in 1957 as they struggled for equality and personal success. Majority of African-Americans were harassed and unfortunately this prevented many from standing up for themselves. Segregation caused many to think they wouldn’t have a chance at success because of their race. Many schools’ supplies were old supplies from the all white schools; most of the supplies past on to them were in very poor condition making learning hard. Their voices were often looked over and went unheard because they were looked as unequal or moot. This made it even harder to stand up for what they believe in. The threat of people causing harm to their family or destruction of their home prevented many from protesting or

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.

The change in president’s actions and beliefs also helped the growth of the CRM. Presidents such as Truman and Eisenhower began to take action overruling states inactions to ignore the federal government, thus effectively aiding blacks bid for civil rights. A good example showing how president’s attitudes were changing is the little rock nine cases in Arkansas, 1957. When nine black students were disallowed entry into the city high school by governor of Arkansas orders to send state soldiers to stand outside the premises to avoid entry, President Eisenhower felt he had to intervene. He ordered 1000 US soldiers to protect the black children on their way to school from the mob of angry white parents opposing desegregation in schools. Eisenhower’s actions showed that he was prepared to make drastic action in order for integration amongst blacks and white children in schools. He used his authority

Black people began a movement to prove that they were being treated unfairly by the United States government. There were numerous riots and marches. For example, After the Brown versus board of education supreme court case there was a law put in place that segregation in schools was not allowed. “ Nine black students enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957, testing a landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional (Integration).” On the September 4, 1952 when class officially started at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, many people showed up to protest the event about to take place.

Question 2: According to the speech that President Eisenhower gave about Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, he stated clearly that “it demonstrates we are a nation in which laws, not men are supreme.” Eisenhower didn’t want to use his authority to enforce the Court’s verdict involving the political issue that is desegregation. However, he felt that if he didn’t, the issue would keep appearing throughout history. And so, he sent federal troops to make sure that the situation did not get out of hand. He was also worried about the agencies, both local and state, and that if they could not do their jobs, then unfortunately the Executive Branch of the Federal government must uphold the law whether it’s good for the nation or not. As for the Civil Rights