The Little Rock Nine were a group of Black American students who bravely enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment came after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court, which declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Led by Arkansas civil rights activists Daisy Bates and supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, the nine students faced violent opposition and resistance from segregationist forces, including mobs and state officials. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus infamously deployed the National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school.
Despite the hostility and threats to their safety, the Little Rock Nine persevered, and with the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them to protect the students, they were able to enter the school on September 25, 1957.
The courage and determination of the Little Rock Nine paved the way for the desegregation of public schools across the country.
The Joy Trip Project celebrates the enduring legacy of Black American History. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American historical figures, events and cultural contributions.
#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute
The Little Rock Nine