Kowalski, Kathiann M. "Little Rock NINE." Cobblestone 35.2 (2014): 18. Middle Search Plus. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
<!--Additional Information:Little Rock NINE Elizabeth Eckford thought the soldiers at Central High School would protect her. But on September 4, 1957, the soldiers raised their guns and pointed them at her. They refused to let Elizabeth enter the school.
Like many places in the South, Little Rock, Arkansas, had segregated schools in the 1950s. In 1954, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state governments could not continue to segregate public schools by race. Little Rock school superintendent Virgil Blossom made a plan to integrate the schools. He picked a group of black students to attend the all-white Central High School. But some of the white citizens of Little Rock did not like the plan. Some threatened violence, and the governor of Arkansas turned the situation into a political issue. He sent the National Guard to Little Rock to stop integration.
After the soldiers had turned Elizabeth away, she walked to the bus stop to go home. An angry mob shouted insults and death threats at her. Another student, Melba Patillo, never got to school that day. Angry white people tried to attack her and her mother. The other students arrived with Daisy Bates (see the accompanying article). The soldiers turned them away, too.
These black students who attempted to attend the public high school that day became known as the Little Rock Nine. They were Elizabeth Eckford, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed, Ernest Green, Terrance Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Carlotta Walls, and Minnijean Brown. For three weeks, the Arkansas National Guard barred them from entering the school.
Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent soldiers to Little Rock to enforce a court order to integrate. He put the Arkansas National Guard under the authority of the federal government. He ordered the members of the guard and the soldiers to protect the black students. On September 25, the soldiers escorted the Little Rock Nine to Central High School. "For the first time in my life, I feel like an American citizen," Minnijean said.
But getting into school did not stop the students' troubles. "We were assaulted every day in school," said Elizabeth. White students slammed them into lockers. They tripped them on the stairs and kicked them. The school did nothing to protect the black students. One day, Minnijean finally shouted at a girl who kicked and insulted her. It was Minnijean, not the white girl, who was expelled.
In spite of the terrible difficulties, the Little Rock Nine all graduated from high school. They all went to college. Thanks to their extraordinary courage, the battle to enforce the law of the land was won.
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By Kathiann M. Kowalski
illustrated by Lisa Fields
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