Imagine it is your first day of high school, and as you approach the steps of your new school mobs of violent people swarm you, shouting obscene profanity and refusing to let you enter. This was common for the students who were chosen to integrate into Central High School. Civil rights were and still are a tricky subject, but I feel it’s important we examine the past to best learn for the future. In 1947, the high of the civil rights era was brewing. Figures emerged, which pushed humanity towards equal treatment of all races. Little Rock, Arkansas also made headlines when the Supreme Court ordered nine students, all high schoolers who were different ages, to be integrated into the local school district in the white part of town.
Of course, this action was highly looked down upon, but local leaders in favor of desegregation supported the court’s actions.
On September 4, 1957, nine African American students attempted to enter Little Rock Central High school. The nine students, escorted by NAACP representative Daisy Bates, were turned away by National Guard troops stationed at the high school by the state’s governor, Orval Faubus.
Those students and their families encountered enormous challenges as they faced a huge proposition from their local government and police force. In my opinion, these students were essential to changing the way white citizens felt about African Americans joining other white students.
There are several accounts of horrible treatment and obscene actions taken by the citizens of Little Rock and their leaders. I have examined a book written by one of the Little Rock Nine, Melba Beals, in which she described these horrendous actions. Melba suffered both at home and at school. Her family disagreed with her decision to attend Central High School in the first place, she signed a list to possibly be chosen. Melba and the other members of the Little Rock Nine were definitely considered the minority because the entirety of Central High school consisted of all white students and teachers.
Only a selective group of students were actually chosen, and Melba ended up being one of them. Although she had the support of the National Guard and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Melba suffered greatly. “A mob of several thousand white segregationists had gathered at the school to stop the children from entering.” (Little Rock Central High School Desegregation) I truly don’t understand how these students were given the strength to continuing forward. In her book Melba described the numerous times she was attacked by her fellow students and even people she didn’t know. In one situation, Melba was using a bathroom, when a group of teenaged girls trapped her in one of the stalls and proceeded to throw pieces of paper at her. The paper, however, was on fire and Melba suffered minor burns and portions of her hair were left scorched.
In another situation, Melba was chased down the street by an older white man who was enraged by the fact she was attending the same school as his daughter. He even went as far as to try to sexually assault Melba, but luckily one of her friends came along to see what was happening and ended it right there. Although Melba and the other members of the Little Rock Nine suffered unimaginable hardships, their hard work did not go unnoticed. White members of their community realized something had to be done, and were willing to do anything to stop the children from attending school or just to humiliate them. People would go out of their way to verbally or emotionally abuse these students because of the color of their skin.
Even the people who lived on the same street as Melba were angered by the fact that she and her family were raising the suspicion of the black community. Even though Melba’s life was in danger, the fear didn’t stand in her way. In one instance, Melba was at the mall with her family and needed to use the bathroom. The nearby bathroom was for white people only. Her mother and grandmother had no idea she had slipped away. Melba was young and didn’t fully understand the separate bathrooms.
The white woman in the bathroom called Melba everything in the book. Even resorting to calling the police because she had used one of the stalls. Melba and her fellow Little Rock Nine members grew extremely close as they shared their similar experiences of their discrimination. The Little Rock Nine had been just a step in the right direction to end segregation. Once Melba and her supporters earned the respect and attention of the national government, changes began to be made. Although African Americans worked long and hard, the fight for equal educational rights was a momentous task. In my opinion, The Little Rock Nine was needed in order to prove that an African American can be just as smart as a white people, maybe even smarter. “These students brave and courageous actions helped push local government officials towards public integration. Their success proved that civil rights protesting can be accomplished peacefully.”