The Little Rock Nine
By Ben Bryant, Third Year History
In 1954, the historic Brown v. Board of Education case began. Upon its conclusion, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that any and all laws that supported the segregation of schools were unconstitutional. After the conclusion of the case, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began to push for the registration of Black students in segregated schools throughout the South.
And here, our story brings the U.S. to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools in Little Rock, created a plan to gradually integrate all schools in Little Rock. This was approved on May 24th, 1955, to begin in the autumn of 1957. Despite some opposition - such as accusations of it being vague from NAACP members like Daisy Bates - and changes to limit the impact of desegregation, the altered plan went ahead in September 1957.
The Little Rock 9 with Daisy Bates. Bates is second from the right, back row.
By 1957, the NAACP had successfully registered the nine students who would eventually give their name to The Little Rock Nine. Nine students began the staggered integration of the Little Rock education system, beginning at Little Rock Central High School. Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed and Melba Pattillo Beals were all selected thanks to their excellent record in both grades and attendance. They were to be a demonstration of the power of the Civil Rights Movement, the indomitable human spirit and the beginning of a new era of education and equality.
However, when the plan was put into action on September 4th of the same year, the Arkansas National Guard prevented the nine Black students from entering the school, acting under the guise of preserving the peace. Arkansas governor Orval Faubus later claimed that there was an “imminent danger of tumult, riot and breach of peace”, when, in reality, he believed to be defending “the continued proper education” of the children of Arkansas.
Faubus claimed that “the federal government has no authority to require any state to operate public schools”. He was wrong. President Dwight D. Eisenhower created and issued Executive Order 10730, placing the Arkansas National Guard under federal power and ordering them to support the integration of the Little Rock Nine on this day 67 years ago, September 23rd, 1957.
Of course, this would not be the end. The Little Rock Nine were subjected to a year of physical and verbal abuse, and Faubus would continue to fight the decision and attempt to postpone desegregation in Little Rock. In September 1958, Faubus and the Little Rock School District would close all public schools and try to open private schools. Teachers and administrators were fired in a period now known as the ‘Lost Year’, before schools reopened and abuse began again on August 12th, 1959.
The bravery of the Little Rock Nine is something that we should continue to admire and commemorate, particularly due to the long-lasting abuse that they suffered because of their courage. The focus should not be placed on the legislation or governmental affairs, but rather on the fearlessness of the nine students, aged just 15 to 17.