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Little
Rock Senior High School
Built in 1927 at a cost of $1.5 million, Little Rock Senior
High School, later to be renamed Little Rock Central High, was
hailed as the most expensive, most beautiful, and largest high
school in the nation. Its opening earned national publicity
with nearly 20,000 people attending the dedication ceremony.
The next two decades there were typical of those at most
American high schools, but historic events in the 1950s
changed education at Central High School and throughout the
United States.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States
made a historic ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka when it declared that segregation of public schools
was unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall, chief counsel for the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and future Supreme Court Justice, had successfully
argued the case before the Supreme Court. As part of his
argument to end segregation, he referenced the case Prudence
Crandall's lawyers made against Connecticut's Black Law. As a
result of the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education,
the "separate but equal" doctrine set forth in the Court's
1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was no longer
valid. In May 1955, after carefully considering how the ruling
should be implemented, the Court stated that Federal District
Courts would have jurisdiction over the desegregation plans of
local school districts and that these plans should be
formulated and put into effect "with all deliberate speed."
Arkansas was considered a moderate southern border state on
the issue of race relations and civil rights. A few days after
the Supreme Court's decision, the Little Rock School Board
held a special meeting to discuss its impact on the city's
schools. A unanimous resolution declared that the Board would
comply and gradual desegregation would begin at the high
school level in the 1957 school year. Central High was
selected to be the first to desegregate with lower grades
following over the next six years.
There was little open dissent among the city's white
citizens in the three years of planning for the desegregation
of Central High School. In January 1956, several
African-American students attempted to enroll in Little Rock's
schools. In response, lower courts judged the 1957
desegregation date to be in line with the Supreme Court's
ruling and denied admittance to the students. The effort of
African Americans to enroll in white schools flamed public
interest in the desegregation plan. During the summer of 1957,
a few months before Central High was to desegregate,
opposition began to crystallize as the Capital Citizen's
Council, the Little Rock version of a white citizen's council,
and the Central High Mothers' League launched a media campaign
against the School Board's plan and integration in general.
Amidst growing turmoil, the superintendent and staff
interviewed African-American students who lived in the Central
High district and expressed interest in participating in
school integration. Out of the students selected, several
later decided to stay at their all-black high school. The
remaining students became known as the "Little Rock Nine." The
co-editor of the Tiger, Little Rock Central High
School's student newspaper, summarized the events surrounding
the planned desegregation in the September 19, 1957, issue as
follows:
Classes were scheduled to begin promptly at 8:45 a.m.,
September 3, at Little Rock Central High School when
incidents began happening which caused the school to be the
center of nationwide publicity. Photographs and articles
have appeared in national magazines, and newspapers
throughout the United States have told the story of how nine
Negro students had been registered for admission to Central.
To better understand the happenings of the past two weeks,
here is a summary of the history of the school situation.
Supreme Court Rules
On May 17, 1954 the United States Supreme Court ruled that
racial segregation in the schools was unconstitutional. Just
five days later the Little Rock School Board issued a policy
statement that said it would comply with the Supreme Court
decision when the Court outlined the method to be followed.
In May, 1955 the School Board adopted a plan of gradual
integration under which the high school grades would be
integrated starting in September, 1957.
Injunction Proceedings
Pulaski Chancellor Murry O. Reed issued a temporary
injunction against enrolling Negroes in Central High on
August 29, after Mrs. Clyde Thomason, recording secretary of
the Mother's League, had filed suit in Pulaski Chancery
Court.
Federal District Judge Ronald N. Davies of North Dakota
nullified the Pulaski Chancery Court injunction the next day
and ordered the School Board to proceed with its gradual
integration plan beginning with the opening of school on
September 3.
Governor Calls Guard
Governor Orval Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard
and the State Police on the night of September 2 to surround
the LRCHS campus with instructions to keep peace and order.
About 270 Army and Air National Guard troops under the
command of Colonel Marion Johnson formed lines for the two
blocks along the front of the school. The first day of
school drew a crowd of about 300 spectators; the troops had
closed the streets around the school to all traffic.
There were groups of uniformed men posted at each
entrance and all sides of the building with orders to admit
only students, teachers, and school officials. Judge Davies
again ordered integration to proceed at a hearing which
lasted less than five minutes on the night of September 3.
Nine Negroes Arrive
Nine Negro students arrived to enroll at Central on the
second day of school but were turned away by the National
Guardsmen at the direction of Governor Faubus.
That afternoon Federal Judge Davies ordered an
investigation by all offices of the Department of Justice to
determine who was responsible for the interference of the
court's order to proceed with integration. The National
Guard remained on duty. A petition asking for a stay of the
integration order was sought in the interest of education by
the School Board on September 7, but it was denied by Judge
Davies.
Gov. Accepts Summons
A week after school had opened, on September 10, Governor
Faubus was served with a Federal Court summons. Federal
Judge Davies ordered the Governor and the Arkansas National
Guard made defendants in the case and scheduled a hearing
for tomorrow, September 20. Later that day, the nine Negroes
who had failed to enter LRCHS said they would not make
another attempt until after the hearing. At a press
conference after the summons had been accepted Governor
Faubus said that the Guard Troops would remain at Central
for the time being.
Historic Meeting Occurs
Last Saturday an unprecedented conference took place between
President Eisenhower and Governor Faubus at Newport, Rhode
Island, to discuss the school situation. Although many
details have been written about this meeting, no definite
statements have been made as to the possible outcome.
The October 3, 1957, issue of the Tiger continued
the story:
Nine Negro students attended Little Rock Central High
School last week for the first time in history. They arrived
at the school Wednesday, September 25, accompanied by crack
paratroopers of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. An
Army station wagon carried the students to the front
entrance of the building while an Army helicopter circled
overhead and 350 armed paratroopers stood at parade rest
around the building.
Never before had Federal troops been used to enforce
integration in a public school.
Third Attempt Made
This was the third attempt the Negro students had made to
attend classes at Central. For three weeks the Arkansas
National Guard had patrolled the school on orders of
Governor Orval Faubus. Then on September 20 the troops were
withdrawn by the Governor after the Federal Court had issued
an injunction requiring him to withdraw the troops.
All was quiet over the week-end at CHS, but on Monday,
September 23, eight of the Negro students enrolled at
Central. Uncontrolled violence grew so swiftly in the area
surrounding the school campus that city law enforcement
officers decided it was wise to withdraw the Negro students
shortly after noon on the same day.
Federal Troops Arrive
President Eisenhower took unprecedented action on September
24, when he called the Arkansas National Guard into active
military service to deal with the Little Rock school
integration crisis. President Eisenhower also authorized
Secretary of Defense Wilson to use regular Army troops in
addition to the National Guard Units.
Accordingly, about 1,000 paratroopers of the 101st
Airborne division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, began arriving
at the Little Rock Air Force Base on the evening of
September 24. They immediately took up positions around the
school.
General Advises Students
The Department of the Army designated Major General Edwin A.
Walker chief of the Arkansas Military District.
As commander of the troops in the Little Rock area, Major
General Walker addressed the student body and explained his
position clearly.
All Quiet Within
Halls were quiet within the schools as the Negro students
entered. They proceeded to their pre-arranged classes and
school work went on just about as usual. At least two dozen
soldiers without bayonets patrolled the halls.
Many Central students were absent; of the 2,000 enrolled,
about 1,250 attended classes. On Friday the attendance was
back up to 1450. At press time it was almost normal.
Although some of the students, teachers, and administration
attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy, for the nine
students that integrated Central High School it was like going
to war every day. One of the Little Rock Nine, Melba Pattillo
Beals, describes their experience in her book Warriors
Don't Cry:
My eight friends and I paid for the
integration of Central High with our innocence. During those
years when we desperately needed approval from our peers, we
were victims of the most harsh rejection imaginable. The
physical and psychological punishment we endured profoundly
affected our lives. It transformed us into warriors who
dared not cry even when we suffered intolerable pain.
Integration affected both their lives at school and at
home. At school these students were elbowed, poked, kicked,
punched, and pushed. They faced verbal abuse from
segregationists as well as death threats against themselves,
their families, and members of the black community. At home,
their families endured threatening phone calls; some of the
parents lost their jobs; and the black community as a whole
was harassed by bomb threats, gun shots, and bricks thrown
through windows. While the students received some support from
their community, they also were alienated by those who felt
their actions jeopardized the safety of others.
Eight of the Little Rock Nine bravely finished the school
year. One student was suspended and later expelled due to
altercations with segregationists. In May 1958, with federal
troops and city police on hand, Ernest Green, the only senior
of the Little Rock Nine, graduated from Central High.
After that year, however, the story was far from over.
Although ultimately unsuccessful, the Little Rock School Board
made attempts to delay further desegregation. In August 1958,
Governor Faubus called a special session of the state
legislature to pass a law allowing him to close public schools
to avoid integration. Faubus ordered Little Rock's high
schools closed the following month, forcing approximately
3,700 high school students to seek alternative schooling
during the 1958-59 school year. Finally, in June 1959, a
federal court declared the state's school-closing law
unconstitutional, and the schools reopened in the fall. Under
the guidance of the new School Board, Little Rock Central High
reopened in August 1959. Although a group of demonstrators
marched to the school's opening, the local police broke up the
mob and the school year began peacefully as several of the
Little Rock Nine returned to Central High School.
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