The Little Rock Nine Ethan Elsler

A little girl named Linda Brown had to walk through train yards and across railroad

tracks and then take a bus to finally get to school due to racial segregation. She lived in an

ethnically diverse neighborhood, but had to walk to an all black school when there was a school

four blocks from her house. When her parents had had enough of this, they collaborated with

other black families to try to enroll in all white schools. They knew they would be rejected,

which was part of their strategy. When the school inevitably denied them entry, they filed a

lawsuit against the Board of Education. Since Linda Browns parents were first alphabetically

out of the other parents, the case was called Brown v. Board of Education.

Fifty-two years before this historic case, there was another case name Plessy v. Ferguson

that created the idea of separate but equal. This was untrue because the all white schools

received better facilities and a more quality education. When the supreme court ruling came in

favor of the Brown family and all black families across the nation, separate was finally not equal.

This court decision ruled that all schools across the nation had to desegregate their schools.

When states were resisting to the ruling, the supreme court issued another decision called Brown

ll. This ruling said to integrate schools with all deliberate speeds.

But when nine african american kids enrolled at Little Rock Senior High School, the

governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, had a different idea. He told the people he would bring in

the Arkansas National Guard to prevent them from entering the school. He said that violence

and bloodshed might break out if black students entered the school. Eventually, the first day of

school began. One of the nine african american students arrived before the rest of them. Her

name was Elizabeth Eckford, who recalled memories of the groups of white protesters who
surrounded the school. A woman spit on her, which led to national attention through newspapers.

But, when the other eight kids arrived, they were kept from entering the school by the National

Guard like the governor said they would be.

With the image of a white woman spitting on Elizabeth Eckford printed nationwide on

every newspaper, the president at the time, Dwight D. Eisenhower eventually received word.

When the president received word he tried to reason with Governor Faubus, but Faubus refused.

When he refused, he had federal judge Ronald Davies begin legal proceedings to remove the

National Guard, and they were removed. Now with the kids granted entry into the school, they

tried to enter again. They entered through angry mobs of white protesters 1,000 strong. Due to

relentless rioting however, in an effort to keep the peace, the police removed the kids from the

high school.

This did not sit well with President Eisenhower. On September 24th, 1957 , he had the

U.S. Armys 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky come to Little Rock. With

the 101st Airborne 1,200 strong along with 10,000 National Guardsmen, President Eisenhower

had the Little Rock Nine attend their first day of school the very next day. This didnt stop

governor Faubus from publicly speaking out about how he wanted the Little Rock Nine

removed. The next school year he had all public high schools shut down while the public was

voting to prevent desegregation. The citizens of Little Rock voted against integration, so the

schools stayed closed the remainder of that year, with all high schools opening in 1959.

The presidents actions also did not stop the retaliation of the public against the Little

Rock Nine and their families. They were harassed in school, sometimes jumped and beaten.

Melba Pattillo even had acid thrown in her face. Gloria Ray was thrown down a flight of stairs,
and her mother was fired from her job with the State of Arkansas for not removing Gloria from

the school. Also, Minnijean Brown was expelled after she fought back to the white students

attacking her. The only one that graduated that year was Ernest Green. On May 25th, 1958 he

became the first African American to graduate from Little Rock Senior High School.

This issue relates to federalism because the state of Arkansas tried to refuse the supreme

courts ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. This court case ruled that separate is not equal,

and that all schools nationwide be integrated. More states were retaliating which made the

supreme court issue another court decision called Brown ll, which said to integrate schools fast.

When the state of Arkansas refused to desegregate their schools, the federal government forced

them to by force. President Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Armys 101st Airborne Division to stop

the rioting and to escort the Little Rock Nine into Little Rock Senior High School.
 Works Cited

History.com Staff. "Integration of Central High School." History.com. A&E Television

Networks, 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Biography.com Staff "Linda Brown." Biography.com. N.p., 02 Apr. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.