On September 4, 1957, Nine Black Students Who Would Later Become Known As The Little Rock Nine, Attempted, Unsuccessfully, To Register At The All-White Central High School, In Little Rock Arkansas.
They Were Denied Access To The School By Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, Who Called In The Arkansas National Guard To Block The Students From Registering. When The Federal Government Ordered Faubus To Allow Their Registration, He Replied, He Could Not Guarantee The Safety Of The Students.
Local People Turned Out To Taunt And Terrorize The Children, So Much That Their Parents Would Not Let Them Go To School Until The Federal Government Guaranteed Their Safety.
After Much Delay, President Dwight D. Eisenhower Reluctantly Ordered Troops To Little Rock To Protect The Children And Ensure That Faubus Would Comply With The School Integration Order.
On Monday, September 23, 1957, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed And Melba Patillo, Entered And Integrated Arkansas Central High School.
The Little Rock Nine
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
