Desegregation In The Film: The Little Rock Nine

The story of the Little Rock Nine takes place in the Spring of 1957, and there were 517 African American students who lived in the Central High School District located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Although, eighty students took an interest in accompanying Central during the fall semester. These African American students had the opportunity to be interviewed by the Little Rock School Board. Out of the results of the interview, seventeen of the eighty African American students were eligible to attend Central High School. As the Central High School fall semester began, only nine of the seventeen students decided to attend Central High School. The over eight remained at Horace Mann High School, an all-black high school. On September 25, 1957, nine African American students known as the “Little Rock Nine” attended Central High School.

Leaving last week’s class, my mind was darting in all sorts of directions. While the “Eyes on the Prize” excerpt gave me a concrete understanding of the historic events of the desegregation of Little Rock High School, “Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later” brought up all sorts of observations and questions on race in America that I hadn’t necessarily thought to address before. I think these two films were particularly interesting to view back to back because of their difference in style, content, and execution.

In the early 1890’s the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal. This means that blacks and whites used different restaurants, hotels theatres, and hotels. Blacks were considered inferior to white people and got less money from the government. The black schools and hospitals were considerably subpar to the white public places. Jim Crows laws in the South allowed this type of segregation and inequity to occur.

Little Rock Nine enrolled the beginning of the day the Arkansas National Guard 's turned away the students. The first day of school the African American cars were pelted with rocks along with death threats screamed at the students. These nine students made history that later became a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Experiences that the students went through on their first day of school is something that no person should ever experience. One student went through having acid was thrown in her face, the other pushed down the stairs. Little Rock Nine made a plan to meet off campus and march into the school with a lawyer, Elizabeth Eckford didn’t have a telephone so she never received the plans. Elizabeth thought the soldiers (Arkansas National Guard) were there to protect her, she got behind them and started walking but once she got to the doors the guards didn 't let Elizabeth in but as someone saw her and yelled “lynch her! lynch

The first day of mixture at Central High school in Little Rock Arkansas, mobs protested outside the school. Eight of the African Americans in Little Rock Nine students chosen to integrate the all white Central High, met up before so they could have an escort though the mob. Elizabeth Eckford, did not receive the message about meeting beforehand. Not knowing of the mobs and the meeting, she went to school on her own.

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 news media brought to light the struggles in Little Rock. First of all, the news media reported on an image of Hazel Bryan yelling at Elizabeth Eckford. In Little Rock Girl the author says, “Elizabeth, hoping to get the same education that her white peers were getting, and Hazel, determined to keep her from getting it” (LRG 1957 6-7). When the news media reported on this picture it showed the rest of the world that many people in Little Rock were against integration and they would heckle the Little Rock Nine, so they wouldn’t want to go to Central. The news media also captured many people’s reactions to the Little Rock Nine going into Central. Benjamin Fine who

Even though the law was written, people were reluctant to conform. The South even more reluctant. In 1957, three years after the signing of the Executive Order that desegregated schools, nine African Americans were the first to be enrolled into a desegregated high school in the South. The high schoolers attended Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite the law, Southerns outburst to this action. The Nine were screamed at, threaten death, beatings, and cussed at. Crowds of people surrounded the high school screaming their opposition, as the kids tried to enter the school. The Arkansas Governor resulted to calling in the Arkansas National Guard to stand in front of the school to prevent the Nine from entering. The Nine themselves remained passive throughout the entire dilemma. Interviews revealed that the student only wanted to completely their education. Media, exposed the entire incident to the country, including President Eisenhower. Angered from the reactions of the people and the governor, Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Divison of the United States Army to escort and protect the students to, from, and around the campus. Eisenhower believed strongly in the desegregation of schools and knew he'd have to enforce it upon those who were unwilling to change. Time progressed and people started to accept that the Nine were going to stay. Therefore, began the

To Kill a Mockingbird is a shining example of characters taking a stand for what they believe to be fair and just. TKAM is a very interesting book, set in a small town called Maycomb during the great depression and watch as people take stands from closed off and introverted Boo to wise and kind-hearted Atticus. I 'll be focusing on Boo and Mrs.Dubose and how they took a stand along with relating their stands with the stands of the “Little Rock Nine”.

In the book Warriors Don 't Cry, Melba and her friends integrate into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Melba and her friends experiences troubles as she tries to survive integration. Beals reveals a lot of things that would gives hint to things that we see ahead. The book mainly focuses on the south, light has been shed on events in the north around the same time when the Little Rock Nine (Bars) integrated. This essay will make inferences that show how people in the southern schools will continue to be ruthless and slow acceptance for the nine and for the north schools how whites will except African-Americans more.

The Little Rock Nine story is an inspirational one. On September 25th, 1957, nine black students courageously entered Little Rock Central High and their entrance “…sparked a nationwide crisis…” (Little Rock Nine). As they were meeting their new classmates an uproar began outside the school and to ensure that the nine were safe, Dwight Eisenhower, the president

Civil rights, political and social freedom and equality, something many African Americans had to fight for. There were boycotts, sit-ins, teach-ins, freedom riders and many other events where people took a stand and stood their ground, but the one that really caught the attention of others was the Little Rock Nine. All the different situations where people were fighting against Jim Crow Laws started with something that was most likely over equality. These students were all about fighting for an equal education, and believed they should be taught in the same room, with the same lessons, and with the same teachers as any other white student.

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). This proves political leaders tried to take matters into their own hands and rule in ways to end segregation. If they had not passed this law, then it could have taken many more years to stop segregation in colleges and other areas this law would influence to

The Little Rock Nine was a group of teenager chosen to integrate Central High, which is in Little Rock, Arkansas. The group consists of three guys, named Ernest Green, Jefferson A. Thomas, and Terrence Roberts. The girls of the group were Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Thelma Mothershed, Gloria Karlmark, and Melba Pattillo Beals. Ernest Green was a senior when he started at central, he was the first African-American student to graduate from Central High. They commonly faced challenges of the segregationists. They were always harassed and tortured. They persevered and made it through. Most of them made it to graduation.

“Go Set a Watchman” is a novel by the late Harper Lee that takes place in the 1950’s. The time period that the book is set in is also around the time that the infamous case of Brown v. Board of Education had been brought to the supreme court. This book is a sequel to the popular novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” where a white man, Atticus Finch, is fighting for a black man who has been accused of rape by a white woman. In “Go Set a Watchman”, there is a slew of conflicts, from Jean Louise being embarrassed and losing her sense of self-confidence due to her “falsies” being thrown onto a billboard to her discovering that her once seemingly nice father is not all what he has been cut out to be.