Little Rock Nine — LLMpedia

Little Rock Nine
Will Counts · Public domain · source
Name	Little Rock Nine
Caption	The Little Rock Nine, escorted by the 101st Airborne Division, enter Central High School on September 25, 1957.
Date	September 4–25, 1957 (initial crisis)
Location	Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Participants	Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo Beals, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas; Orval Faubus; Dwight D. Eisenhower; 101st Airborne Division
Outcome	Enforcement of school desegregation; a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement

Contents

Background and Legal Context
The 1957 Desegregation Crisis
Members and Their Experiences
Federal Intervention and Aftermath
Legacy and Historical Significance

Little Rock Nine. The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students who, in 1957, became the first to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their enrollment, mandated by the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, was met with intense resistance from Arkansas state authorities and violent mobs, precipitating a major constitutional crisis. The event stands as a defining confrontation between state and federal authority over civil rights and marked a significant, though difficult, step toward the desegregation of public schools in the American South.

Background and Legal Context

The crisis had its roots in the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared state laws establishing segregated public schools to be unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began a concerted effort to enroll African American students in all-white schools across the South to test compliance with the ruling. In 1955, the Court's implementation decree, known as Brown II, ordered desegregation to proceed "with all deliberate speed," a phrase that allowed for significant delay and resistance. The Little Rock School Board initially adopted a cautious, gradual desegregation plan, starting with the high school level. The selection of the nine students from a pool of volunteers was a meticulous process conducted by Daisy Bates, the president of the Arkansas NAACP State Conference, who provided crucial guidance and support.

The 1957 Desegregation Crisis

The planned first day of school on September 4, 1957, erupted into a national crisis. Defying federal law, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, a Democrat, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Little Rock Central High School to prevent the nine students from entering, claiming it was for public safety. On September 23, after a federal court order, the students entered through a side door but were removed by police for their safety as a violent mob of over 1,000 white protesters gathered. The images of the mob's harassment, particularly of student Elizabeth Eckford isolated on a street corner, were broadcast nationwide, shocking the American public and the world. This direct challenge to federal authority and the breakdown of law and order forced the hand of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Members and Their Experiences

The nine students, who displayed remarkable courage and dignity, were Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo Beals, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Terrence Roberts, and Jefferson Thomas. Their daily experiences inside the school were harrowing. They endured relentless verbal abuse, physical assaults such as being tripped, spat upon, and shoved, and constant threats from hostile white students. School administrators and many teachers were often unable or unwilling to provide effective protection. The psychological toll was immense, requiring immense personal fortitude. Minnijean Brown was eventually expelled for retaliating against her tormentors, while Ernest Green made history as the first African American graduate of Central High in May 1958.

Federal Intervention and Aftermath

In a decisive assertion of federal supremacy, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former Five-Star General, federalized the Arkansas National Guard, removing them from Governor Faubus's control, and ordered elements of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to Little Rock. On September 25, 1957, under military escort, the Little Rock Nine finally entered Central High School and began their full academic year. The soldiers remained for the duration of the school year to ensure order. In reaction, Governor Faubus and the Arkansas General Assembly passed laws allowing the closure of public schools to avoid integration. Consequently, all of Little Rock's high schools were closed for the entire 1958–59 school year, an event known as "The Lost Year." This tactic was later struck down by the courts.

Legacy and Historical Significance