Park Archives: Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

The school desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School put on trial America's commitment to its founding principles. It was the first significant test of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The successful outcome affirmed the basis of that ruling—the 14th Amendment's promise of "equal protection of the laws."

What became a defining moment in the South's "massive resistance" to school desegregation began quietly enough with a plan by Little Rock's school board to gradually integrate the city's schools. But Orval Faubus, the populist governor of Arkansas with a reputation for relative moderation on racial issues, undercut local officials. Race was playing an increasing role in Arkansas politics, and Faubus was looking ahead to running for reelection in 1958. His actions turned ordered desegregation into violent confrontation.

Crying "states' rights" and floating rumors about planned violence, Faubus justified calling out the National Guard to keep order—by blocking the entry of nine African American students. Faubus also cited concern for their safety, but before the eyes of guardsmen, mobs followed, spat on, and threatened violence to the students. Later, after a court had ordered the National Guard withdrawn, and with only police to control the situation, an angry crowd beat both black and white journalists.

In the weeks before the students gained entry under the protection of U.S. Army troops, the governor's defiance and legal maneuvering stoked a constitutional crisis. A growing media presence made this an ongoing news event played out on the country's TV screens. But while Little Rock became the face of the nation's desegregation troubles of the 1950s and 60s, the struggle for equal rights enacted there transcended region, race, and historical period. The struggle continues, and the commitment and courage shown by the Little Rock students is still needed if history is not to be repeated.

Governor Faubus
Spurred by other southern politicians and his own constituents to take a stand against desegregation, Faubus insisted that in Brown v. Board the Supreme Court had overstepped its constitutional authority. He invoked what he called constitutionally guaranteed states' rights to back his use of the National Guard to bar African American students from Central High. By so doing he directly challenged the federal government.

President Eisenhower
Although not an aggressive enforcer of civil rights, Eisenhower believed deeply in the rule of law, the Constitution, and the appropriate use of military force. When Governor Faubus used armed guardsmen to defy a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, Eisenhower had no choice but to back constitutionally granted judicial and executive authority. He was the first president since Reconstruction to use federal troops to enforce civil rights.

September 2
Governor Faubus orders National Guard to bar African Americans from school for their "safety."

4
Guardsmen bar black students from entering school. Soon after Elizabeth Eckford is turned away she is harassed by mob.

20
Federal judge rules against use of National Guard to block students. Little Rock police are given responsibility for protecting the students.

23
Little Rock Nine enter the school; police cannot maintain order. Riot ensues and the students leave from a side entrance in a police car.

24
President Eisenhower federalizes Arkansas National Guard and sends 1,200 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock.

26
Faubus appears on television, saying "We are now an occupied territory." 101st Airborne Division leaves in November. Little Rock Nine endure physical and verbal abuse throughout the year.

May 25
Ernest Green is the first African American to graduate from Central High School. Green says: "It's been an interesting year. I've had a course in human relations first hand."

1958
Faubus temporarily closes schools, giving voters a choice: accept integration or reject it (which they do, thereby closing schools for the 1958-59 year).

Federal court declares closings unconstitutional. Schools reopen in August. Three African Americans attend Central High School, including Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls.

1849 Roberts v. The City of Boston
Supreme Court upholds segregated schools; provides precedent for Plessy v. Ferguson.

1881 Tuskegee Institute
Booker T. Washington founds school for African Americans. His emphasis on trades disturbs some African American leaders.

1896 Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court establishes "separate but equal" doctrine.

1909 Formation of NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) looks to courts to achieve equal rights.

1936 Univ. of Maryland v. Murray
Maryland supreme court orders university's law school to admit African American student.

1946 Mendez v. Westminster
Ends segregation of Latino students in Orange County, Calif, schools.

1950 Sweatt v. Painter
Supreme Court finds that "separate but equal" is unattainable in higher education.

1954 Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court overturns "separate but equal" doctrine. Brown II (1955) mandates—though ambiguously—desegregation with "all deliberate speed."

1960 Ruby Bridges
Six-year-old African American girl desegregates New Orleans elementary school, escorted through mob by federal marshals.

1972 Detroit Busing Plan
Busing plan is reversed in 1974 by Supreme Court (Millikin v. Bradley), affirming that courts could not remedy "white flight."

1976 Boston Anti-Busing Riots
Residents of South Boston riot in response to court-ordered busing.

THE LITTLE ROCK NINE
Minnijean Brown • Elizabeth Eckford • Ernest Green • Thelma Mothershed • Melba Pattillo • Gloria Ray • Terrence Roberts • Jefferson Thomas • Carlotta Walls

Some Little Rock citizens who opposed integration were ready to accept it to avoid disrupting their children's education and damaging the city's reputation as progressive—and thus its business prospects. (To most African Americans the city was progressive only in the eyes of the whites and only in relation to more racially intolerant southern cities.) Others dug in their heels against change, and both sides began marshalling their forces.

Opponents of desegregation formed the Capital Citizens Council and the Mothers' League of Central High School, circulating flyers and petitioning the courts to delay desegregation and remove federal troops. After an African American student was expelled, a group of students distributed anti-integration cards reading "One Down . . . Eight To Go."

When the divided school board fired 44 teachers and administrators suspected of supporting integration, the group Stop This Outrageous Purge (STOP), supported by the Women's Emergency Committee, demanded a special school board election to recall the segregationist board members. They in turn organized the Committee to Retain Our Segregated Schools (CROSS) to block the recall. The recall effort was successful and most of the teachers were rehired.

The Little Rock crisis occurred in the infancy of TV and was among the first news stories filmed as events unfolded. The Magnolia Mobil service station near the school became an impromptu press base from which reporters called in their stories.

One of the photographers on the scene was 26-year-old Will Counts. Working for the Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, Counts caught on film mobs screaming at Elizabeth Eckford and beating a black newsman. These powerful photographs helped spur President Eisenhower to act—partly because during the Cold War battle for the moral high ground the nation was embarrassed by scenes casting American society in a negative light. These now-iconic images were among those published in A Life Is More Than A Moment, Counts' moving visual essay on the events in Little Rock.

The worldwide coverage, generating outrage at the violent denial of basic rights, became a model for the civil rights movement's use of the media over the next decade.

Women and female students played a leading role in the crisis. The Mothers' League became the face of segregation. The Council of Church Women protested when Governor Faubus used the National Guard to bar the nine students. When civic and business leaders failed to protest the school closings, the Women's Emergency Committee took a strong stand in favor of opening the schools under the school board's desegregation plan.

Daisy L. Gatson Bates, president of the state chapter of the NAACP, pressed for immediate rather than gradual desegregation and during the crisis was spokesperson for the students. In response segregationists threw a rock through her window, fired shots at her home, and firebombed her lawn.

From its dedication in 1927, Little Rock Senior High School (its name was changed to Little Rock Central High School in 1953) was recognized as more than a typical American school. The massive structure, a handsome blend of Art Deco and Gothic Revival styles, was named by the American Institute of Architects "America's Most Beautiful High School." Central High was celebrated for its size (100 classrooms; capacity for more than 2,000 students; a huge auditorium and stage) and for its academic excellence. The school also served as a civic center in Little Rock, hosting concerts, plays, and other events. It was a focus of community pride and a cultural symbol—perhaps one of the reasons so many fought so fiercely against change at the school.

The Visitor Center is open daily from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. It is open year-round except Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. We suggest you start with the exhibits in the visitor center. Call ahead to arrange for group tours of park sites.

Accessibility The visitor center and the Commemorative Garden are accessible. With prior notice, accessible group tours of Little Rock Central High school are available. The interpretive exhibits include several captioned audiovisual programs. Service animals are welcome.

Directions From I-630 exit on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive (Exit 2B). Take a right on Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive. Little Rock Central High School is at the intersection of Bates Drive and Park Street. Parking is available at the visitor center.

Please Note
Central High, although an important historical landmark, is still an operating high school attended by more than 2,000 students. Visit the grounds in front of the school, but do not enter the school on your own. By agreement with the school the park gives organized group tours of the interior; reservations are necessary.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

2005-2007		2010-2019

Date Unknown	Date Unknown	Central High Commemorative Garden Date Unknown	Date Unknown	A Lesson in Courage Date Unknown
The Testament Statues Date Unknown		Daisy L. Gatson Bates Date Unknown		Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, 1929-1955 Date Unknown
The 1957 Crisis at Central High Date Unknown		La crisis de 1957 en la escuela secundaria Central de Little Rock Date Unknown		The Little Rock Nine Date Unknown
The Magnolia/Mobile Service Station Date Unknown		Philander Smith College and the 1957 Crisis Date Unknown		The Women's Emergency Committee (WEC) Date Unknown