| Cruisin' the Past |
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| Cruisin’ the Past by Ed Dooley |
Recalling Little Rock's Segregation Battle
by Alex Chadwick
Fifty-two years ago in Little Rock, Ark., nine black children were thwarted in their
attempt to attend the all-white Central High School. Members of the Arkansas
National Guard, along with an angry mob, refused to let them into the school.
One school year in Arkansas became a fundamental American event. A series of
stories from Day to Day will examine how this civil rights clash unfurled, and the
cultural setting in which it took place.
Central High School Crisis: A Timeline
The following events occurred in 1957, three years after the decision of Brown vs.
Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools
unconstitutional.
Aug. 27: The Mother's League of Central High School, a group of women from
Broadmoor Baptist Church with ties to a segregationist group, has its first public
meeting. After discussing "inter-racial marriages and resulting diseases which might
arise," they decide to petition the governor to prevent integration. Lawyer Amis
Guthridge draws up the document and Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus supports it. Mrs.
Clyde Thompson, recording secretary of the Mother's League of Little Rock Central
High School, files a motion seeking a temporary injunction against school
integration. Her suit also asks for clarification on the "segregation" laws.
Aug. 29: Pulaski County Chancellor Murray Reed grants the injunction, on the
grounds that integration could lead to violence.
Aug. 30: Federal District Judge Ronald Davies orders the Little Rock School Board
to proceed with its plan of gradual integration and the opening of the school on Sept.
3, and nullifies Reed's injunction.
Sept. 2: (Labor Day) Gov. Faubus orders the Arkansas National Guard to prohibit
nine black students from entering Central High School. In a televised speech, he
states that he did so to prevent violence. Afterward, the school board orders the nine
black students who had registered at Central not to attempt to attend school.
Sept. 3: Judge Ronald Davies orders desegregation to start Sept. 4, while Gov.
Faubus orders the National Guard to remain at Central.
Sept. 4: Nine black students attempt to enter Central High School, but are turned
away by the National Guard. One of the nine, Elizabeth Eckford, does not have a
telephone and so was not notified ahead of time of the change in plans. She arrives
alone at the school to face the Guardsmen alone. She is able to reach a bus stop
bench and Mrs. Grace Lorch, a white woman, stays with her and boards the bus with
her to help take her to her mother's school.
Sept. 5: None of "the nine" try to attend school. The school board asks Judge
Davies to temporarily suspend its integration plan.
Sept. 7: Federal Judge Davies denies the school board's request.
Sept. 8: Gov. Faubus goes on national television to re-affirm his stand and insists
that the federal government halt its demand for integration. When confronted to
produce evidence of reported violence, Faubus refuses.
Sept. 9: Judge Davies begins injunction proceedings against Gov. Faubus and two
National Guardsmen for interfering with integration.
Sept. 10: Judge Davies tells the United States Justice Department to begin
injunction proceedings against Faubus. He schedules a hearing for Sept. 20 for a
preliminary injunction.
Sept. 14: Gov. Faubus meets with President Eisenhower in Newport, R.I., to discuss
issues of the prevention of violence and the desegregation of Arkansas' public
schools. "I have assured the president of my desire to cooperate with him in carrying
out the duties resting upon both of us under the Federal Constitution," Faubus says
in a statement. "In addition, I must harmonize my actions under the Constitution of
Arkansas with the requirements of the Constitution of the United States."
Sept. 20: Judge Davies rules Faubus has not used the troops to preserve law and
order and orders them removed, unless they protect the nine black students as they
enter the school. Faubus removes the Guardsmen and the Little Rock police move
in.
Sept. 23: An angry mob of more than 1,000 white people curses and fights in front of
Central High School, while the nine black children are escorted inside. A number of
white students, including Sammie Dean Parker, jump out of windows to avoid
contact with the black students. Parker is arrested and taken away. The Little Rock
police cannot control the mob and, fearing for their safety, remove the nine children
from the school. Three black journalists covering the story are first harassed and
then physically attacked and chased by a mob. They finally run to safety in a black
section of town. President Eisenhower calls the rioting "disgraceful" and orders
federal troops into Little Rock.
Sept. 24: Members of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles" of Fort
Campbell, Ky., roll into Little Rock. The Arkansas National Guard is placed under
federal orders.
Sept. 25: Under troop escort, the nine black children are escorted back into Central
High School. Gen. Edwin Walker, U.S. Army, addresses the white students in the
school's auditorium before the nine students arrive.
Oct. 1: The 101st Airborne turns over most duties to the federalized Arkansas
National Guard. Discipline problems resurface at Central for the remainder of the
school year.