The Little Rock Nine certainly made history in the U.S in regard to the civil rights movements. Their bravery in rising against racial segregation in public institutions certainly set a precedent. The Little Rock Nine was made up of nine African-American students. They made efforts to desegregate their school, the Little Rock High School. Certainly, their efforts were by no means extraordinary since many other African-Americans were also making significant strides in the struggle for equality in the civil rights movement. In any case, segregation in public schools had already been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S Supreme Court. However, the actions of the nine students made history as no other person of color had forcibly made efforts to join an all-white public school even after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling.
The nine transferred from their various black-only high schools that they hitherto attended (Calsaysmoo). However, their attempts to enter the Little Rock High School were stopped by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. He organized for the nine to be barred from entering the school. He later withdrew the National Guard after the nine obtained a federal court order but the nine experienced severe discrimination from the student fraternity. The police, fearing an escalation of the crisis pulled the nine out of the school. In response, President Dwight Eisenhower responded by deploying a division of the U.S Army to make sure that the students were not barred from going to school.
Despite extreme racial abuse, they managed to graduate from high school. Their entry into the school escorted by the military was historic not only literally in allowing them to attain education but also figuratively by highlighting the plight of African-Americans. Katie Couric, one of the Little Rock Nine believes that we can make history by figuring out how to make education work for us (CBS). Ultimately, as told by Gloria Ray Karlmark, one can only make history by daring to object prejudice and injustice (Calsaysmoo).
Works Cited
Calsaysmoo. “Little Rock Nine.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 13 Mar 2008. Web. 08
CBS News. “Eye to Eye With Katie Couric: Little Rock Nine (CBS News)”. Online video clip.
YouTube, 25 Sep 2007. Web. O8 Apr 2016
