Little Rock Nine

This had to be the highlight of our tour. We didn't expect to see much other than than the high school where nine African-American teens defied segregation in 1957 by attending Little Rock Central High. Turned out, this was one of our best stops.

The building remains spectacular. It was built in 1927 as the largest and most expensive to build high school of the times. I read that nearly 20,000 people showed up for the dedication ceremony.

LIttle Rock Central gained national fame once again in the late fifties. Nine students tested the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education that ordered the integration of public schools. When they attempted to enter the school, they met up with over 1,000 protesters. The scene was becoming so violent, the students were unable to attend classes. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus was not about to allow for integration, so President Eisenhower ordered 1200 men from the 101st Airborne stationed at Fort Campbell to provide escort for the nine students. He also federalized approximately 10,000 men from the Arkansas National Guard to prevent Governor Faubus from taking charge of them.

Here are the steps leading to the school entrance.

Even under escort, the students were jeeered and spit upon. Once in the school, they had even less protection. Although the military guards were present, they were unable to go into the classrooms, bathrooms, or lockerooms where the students continued to be taunted. Very few white students became their friends. I marvel at how brave the Little Rock Nine were to face racism head on for that entire school year.

The whole account was made even more poignant when we learned that our National Park Service guide at the school was Spirit Trickey, the daughter of one of the original students. She said I could post a picture of her. Here she is in front of the plaque honoring her Mom Minijean Brown Trickey. When someone in our group asked her what her Mom thought about her working here, she replied, "She says, 'It's awesome.'"

It was on November 9, 1999, that the Little Rock Nine received Congressional Gold Medals for their valor.