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1-067 Integration Comes to Little Rock
Vol. 1- No. 67
2003
Lead: Opposition to the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was the beginning of a decade of massive resistance to the civil rights movement in the South. Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts Content: In 1954 the Supreme Court of the United States decided in Brown vs. The Topeka, Kansas Board of Education that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional. In the wake of the subsequent decree that instructed parties to pursue desegregation with "all deliberate speed," the Little Rock, Arkansas School Board, a fairly progressive body at that time, began planning to desegregate the schools. The black community in Little Rock, frustrated with the incremental pace of the School Board's efforts, sued to achieve immediate compliance. A federal court took jurisdiction and ordered desegregation by the fall of 1957. As the date approached, local feelings began to run high. At that point Governor Orville E. Faubus intervened. He did so for a variety of reasons. He was genuinely concerned that should black children enter Central High School they might be harmed and that the situation might get out of control. Faubus also was in big political trouble. He was considered by die-hard segregationists to be a liberal. His reelection to the governor's mansion was in serious jeopardy. At 9:00 on December 2, 1957, under orders from the governor, the Arkansas National Guard surrounded Little Rock Central High School in order to keep peace. For three weeks Faubus and the Guardsmen would not allow the black students to enter the school. Those who tried were subjected to verbal abuse and near-physical violence. Only after President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to secure the school and enforce the court order did the long road to racial peace and cooperation begin. The Producer of A Moment in Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources Brownelle, Herbert. "Eisenhower's Civil Rights Program: A Personal Assessment," Presidential Studies Quarterly, 1991, (21, 2): 235-242. Freyer, Tony Allan. The Little Rock Crisis: A Constitutional Interpretation. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984. Hauckby, Elizabeth. Crisis at Central High, Little Rock, 1957-8. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980. Spitzberg, Irving J. Racial Politics in Little Rock, 1954-64. New York: Garland Publishing Company, 1987. Copyright 2003 by Dan Roberts Enterprises, LLC
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