Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, became a pivotal battleground in the American civil rights movement in 1957. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus defied federal authority by deploying the Arkansas National Guard to block nine African American students, known as the “Little Rock Nine”, from entering the all-white high school. We’ll get to the Governor in a minute…
Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Pattillo Beals
President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded by federalizing the National Guard and sending the 101st Airborne Division to escort and protect the students, marking one of the first major federal interventions in the enforcement of civil rights law.
That’s Not The End of the Story
The Nine students who attended the high school suffered harassment and degradation from many of the white students who had obviously been raised by hateful, racist parents. One famous example was illustrated by Hazel Massey’s treatment of Elizabeth Eckford.
On September 9, 1957, nine African-American students entered Little Rock Central High School as the school’s first black students, including Elizabeth Eckford. On her way to the school, a group of white teenage girls followed Eckford, chanting “Two, four, six, eight! We don’t want to integrate!” One of these girls was Hazel Bryan.
Benjamin Fine of The New York Times later described her as “screaming, just hysterical, just like one of these Elvis Presley hysterical deals, where these kids are fainting with hysteria.” Bryan also shouted, “Go home, nigger! Go back to Africa!”
I don’t know about you but my initial reaction to this was anger and disgust. I hoped that monster got hit by a bus or died of cancer. However, as it turns out, she later realized how wrong and terrible she had been, and spent most of the rest of her life trying to make up for it. She was raised to be a horrible little girl, but as she matured she apparently became a more decent human.
There were a lot of other examples of terrible treatment:
- Melba Patillo was kicked, beaten and had acid thrown in her face.
- White students burned an African American effigy in a vacant lot across from the school.
- Gloria Ray was pushed down a flight of stairs.
- The Little Rock Nine were barred from participating in extracurricular activities.
- Minnijean Brown was expelled from Central High School in February 1958 for retaliating against the attacks.
- Gloria Ray’s mother was fired from her job with the State of Arkansas when she refused to remove her daughter from the school.
The question is – if a person does truly horrific things to another person, such that it impacts the course of their life, or even ruins it, should they EVER really be forgiven? That’s not for me to say…
What About That Piece of Shit Governor?
Even after federal intervention forced him to back down temporarily, Faubus continued to obstruct desegregation. In 1958, he closed all four public high schools in Little Rock for an entire year, a period known as the “Lost Year”, rather than allow integration to proceed. This decision punished both Black and white students, depriving thousands of an education in order to maintain segregationist control.
Beyond education, Faubus openly courted white supremacist groups and used racially charged propaganda to solidify his political base, framing himself as a defender of “states’ rights.” His legacy is one of deliberate resistance to equality, deepening racial divisions, and damaging the lives of children and families in pursuit of political power.
Even years later, Faubus continued to defend his actions. He never apologized to the Little Rock Nine or the people of Arkansas for what he did. When interviewed in the 1980s, he insisted that he had acted to prevent violence, calling the students’ integration an “unfortunate experiment.” He portrayed himself as a victim of federal overreach rather than a governor who abused his authority to uphold racial segregation.
Orval Faubus died of prostate cancer on December 14, 1994, at the age of 84. I’m glad he got prostate cancer and I hope it was a horrible, slow, painful, death, but it should have happened many, many years sooner if there was any justice in the world.
Where Things Are Now
First of all, the Little Rock 9:
- Ernest Green – Became the first Black graduate of Little Rock Central High School and later served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training under President Jimmy Carter.
- Elizabeth Eckford – Served in the U.S. Army, worked as a journalist and probation officer, and became an advocate for mental health awareness after enduring decades of trauma from her experiences.
- Jefferson Thomas – Earned a business degree, served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, worked for the Department of Defense, and passed away in 2010.
- Terrence Roberts – Became a clinical psychologist, university professor, and outspoken advocate for racial equality and education reform.
- Carlotta Walls LaNier – Became a successful real estate broker and author, and in 1999, she and the other Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Gold Medal.
- Minnijean Brown-Trickey – Worked as a social activist and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity in the Clinton administration, continuing to speak globally on civil rights.
- Gloria Ray Karlmark – Earned a chemistry degree, worked as a patent examiner and technical writer in Sweden and the Netherlands, and co-founded a European technology magazine.
- Thelma Mothershed-Wair – Earned her master’s degree in guidance and counseling, became an educator, and dedicated her life to helping at-risk youth.
- Melba Pattillo Beals – Became an award-winning journalist, author of Warriors Don’t Cry, and a professor of communications, chronicling her experiences to inspire future generations.
As for the school, Little Rock Central High School is now a National Historic Site, preserved by the National Park Service as a monument to the ongoing pursuit of civil rights and equal education for all. History.com has a great article with a lot more info if you’re interested.
And as for racism in Little Rock… unfortunately I have a terrible story to tell. As I was visiting the site, early on a Sunday morning, with no one else around, an African-American man drove up to a stop sign near the intersection I was standing at. His window was down, but he yelled over to me, “Hey, why is everyone always taking pictures of this place?”
At first I thought he was really asking, but before I could respond he followed with, “It must be because you wish for those days when they wouldn’t let Niggers in that school!” He continued, “You look like the man who would be standing there yelling at those kids!” He went on a little more, and I was so shocked that I didn’t get a single word response in. And then, he left.
I understand the sentiment. I’m as outraged as he is, but the fact that he’s fallen into the same trap of judging someone by the color of their skin is pretty sad. I can only assume it comes from a lifetime of receiving that very treatment. And since this was the very first time in my life I’ve ever experienced this kind of racism, I can only assume it’s VERY alive and well in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Side Note
The Mobil gas station across the street from Little Rock Central High School played a quiet but crucial role during the 1957 desegregation crisis. It served as an informal command post and meeting spot for reporters, photographers, and federal officials who were covering and monitoring the confrontation between Governor Faubus’s forces, the federal troops, and the Little Rock Nine.
Because the school grounds were often chaotic and unsafe, the gas station provided a relatively neutral and accessible location with telephones, restrooms, and shade for journalists working long hours in tense conditions. It became a symbolic vantage point from which the world witnessed history unfolding.
Today, that gas station is preserved as part of the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, representing how even ordinary places can become historically significant when they stand at the intersection of social change, media, and civil rights.
