The film, Eyes on the Prize: Fighting Back, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas is put to the test. During the Supreme Court case of Brown Vs The Board of Education, many people fought for schools to end segregation of the students. This means that black and white students would attend the same schools together. The Supreme Court case made its final decision and made it illegal to segregate students. Central High School was the school that let black students in first. The NAACP let in 9 black students at Little Rock and they were called the Little Rock Nine. Even though many people fought to not have them there, President Eisenhower fought to keep them there. This led to an uproar from the community and a lot of violence. At one point the governor even has to call out the national guard and the students had to be escorted to class by police. By the end of the film, only one black student is left to graduate
The famous Brown v. Board of Education demonstrates the presence of racial segregation in public schools. Prior to 1957, Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, had never had African American students, despite a 1954 ruling from the Supreme Court stating that racial segregation in public schools in unconstitutional. In September of 1957, nine African American students This sparked angry backlash from a mob of 1000 white protestors. The Supreme Court ruled in the Brown v. Board of Education that Central High School must integrate. (History.com staff)
In 1957 there was a group called ‘’The Little Rock Nine’’ and they were a group of African American students who integrated Central High School in Arkansas, which was a predominantly white school. They all would go to this school every day until they were allowed inside, but this took much more than they probably thought. Once they approached the school the angry mob would verbally and sometimes maybe even physically abuse the nine children in and outside of school. So, when they were finally allowed into the school they were really looked down upon. But, that didn’t stop them; They continued to have their right of
Nine years after the United States Supreme Court ruled separate is not equal many schools were still segregated. Judge Bohanon wanted to end this, so he forced a stop to segregation in Oklahoma City Public Schools through his ruling (1). This shows how government leader like Judge Bohanon would try to stop segregation. With them using the power they had they would start with one small area such as schools and it would get the ball rolling to be able to expand the stop of segregation in other areas. Colleges could no be segregated as of June 6, 1955 because of the ruling by Oklahoma’s Board of Higher Education (8).
In 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, therefore racial segregation of public schools were as well. The author illustrates how Thurgood Marshal led the litigation march to civil rights in America accomplishing this and much more in his judicial career. Another great achievement of Marshall that Barnes writes about is the notorious Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka (1937). This was a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all the lack parents who were forced to send their kids to an all-black segregated school. This is the most important case in the 20th century because it challenged and overturned the separate but equal Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) case.
This was the plan created by the superintendent of the school district, Virgil Blossom. The finalized plan already began by desegregating one high school; the next act of desegregation would happen in 1960, where there would be a few junior high schools open to a limited amount of black children. Then grade schools would be desegregated to a certain degree and that was not planned till late 1964. Little Rock were making changes, but still twisting their beliefs into it, by waiting consecutive years to allow another school have black students. Plus, they would limit the amount of black students in the school, which satisfied the government and the white community.
At the time in which segregation was a law, the door of opportunity was shut and it was African American students who opened it. These students were the Little Rock Nine. When they integrated, segregationists did anything they could to prevent it, even breaking the law. As the Little Rock Nine arduously entered Central High, they had no idea their lives would be turned completely upside down. This flip in their lives allowed them to have a voice.
Even though the media displayed false information about the 1957 integration of Little Rock Central High School it changed peoples views on segregation. In A Mighty Long Way Little Rock, Arkansas nine African American students wanted to go to a well educated high school but they do not understand why so many people are angered that they are just getting a better education. During the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957, the media illuminated certain events and painted an inaccurate or incomplete picture of other events. The media illuminates many important events that show how racist white people are treating black people and showing people in the North who are against segregation and support integration.
In conclusion, the Little Rock Nine historically affected the lives of African Americans today by enforcing the desegregated laws into action and uplifted their spirits in believing the impossible is
Board of Education signified the first time that the Supreme Court was on the African American side. This court case was a direct challenge to Plessy v. Ferguson, which stated that separate but equal facilities were equal. The book Warriors Don’t Cry is set directly during this period. In 1957, Governor Orval Faubus blocked the integration of nine students from Little Rocks Central High. President Eisenhower eventually became involved for a few reasons; one was because Governor Faubus was making an obvious resistance to federal authority.
The book “Simple Justice” that was written by Richard Kluger is one of the examples of the successful use of narrative with the scholar style of writing that is telling readers the story behind Brown v. Board of Education. It is needed to state that the book was firstly published in 1976 and at that period it was one of the most precise and detailed descriptions of the decision-making process of the Supreme Court in Brown. That is why, the work of Richard Kluger is so unique, he was able to tell readers the detailed story of the court and that was helpful in the learning of the history as well as in the understanding of the justice system. It is needed to state the fact that in the book Richard Kluger is pointing out on the fact of schools desegregation. He critiques the politics of the government that allowed the school
First off, the governor closed all the schools in Little Rock, so no one could attend. Not only were all the students greatly affected, but the families of the Little Rock Nine had the more major punishments. Many of them were quickly fired from their jobs to reduce more conflicts with business. Once the schools were finally opened back up, each of the nine students were separated throughout the different schools, which caused even more awareness that schools needed to become desegregated. The impact that the Little Rock Nine had on today is the fact schools are all officially desegregated.
As a result of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, The United States legislators wrote the Southern Manifesto in 1956. They believed that the final result of Brown v. Board of Education, which stated that separate school facilities for black and white children were fundamentally unequal, was an abuse of the judicial power. The Southern Manifesto called for the exhaust of all the lawful things they can do in order to stop all the confusion that would come from school desegregation. The Manifesto also stated that the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution should limit the power of the Supreme Court when it comes to these types of issues.
Freedom. The importance of freedom is often forgotten as Americans live day by day taking this gift for granted. In this day and age, freedom seems as a “simple gift’ obtained by every American, but one forgets to think about those who were once unable to enjoy the freedoms one is promised daily. Back in the day, freedom seemed as nothing more than a dream to those of color. Everyday of a colored person’s life consisted of harassment and discrimination as no one cared to treat them as equals. Since many lacked care for the colored people, the colored people took it upon themselves to make a difference leading to the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement became a rollercoaster ride for all of the country as with every “up”, came
Little Rock Nine “They found themselves in the middle of a tug a war between federal and state power”(Kirk). The students hunger for equality sparked a change that would affect America greatly. Little Rock Nine inspired many African Americans to stand up for themselves and stand against racism. They also helped desegregate schools which later lead to the desegregation of other public areas. Little Rock Nine was an inspiration to the 1960’s as seen through their background, impact, and contributions.