Little Rock Nine

Influence of the Media in 1954-1960

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education declared segregated schools were against the law. This case said segregation in schools was not permitted, so thirty-nine African American students enrolled into Central HIgh School in Little Rock, Arkansas, but only nine got accepted. These nine students are commonly known as the Little Rock Nine. After being the only African Americans to be accepted into Central High, they began to face so much more than an average teenager could handle. During the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957, the media both illuminated events that occurred and distorted events by painting an inaccurate and incomplete picture.

During the integration of Central High School media illuminated events what was going on when the Little Rock Nine integrated. Alex Wilson was being beaten by a white mob and the media enlightened that when African Americans were beaten up, people would just stand by. LaNier said, “I was horrified when I saw the attack on the evening news. As leery as I was of the press, I felt a kind of kinship with the black reporters who were risking their lives to tell our collective story” (LaNier 85). This is fluorescent because it shows the Little Rock NIne’s integration and how it brought African Americans together. It also shows that LaNier knew what it is

The media enlightened events during the times when African Americans were beaten, called names, and even when they were physically tormented, to show what the students had to prevail through. The media interpreted events the wrong way by saying something that did not really happen and by making the Little Rock Nine feel a way they did not actually feel. Due to the brave souls that risked their lives for all of America, many schools are now somewhat segregated but other races do