On September 4, 1957, nine Black students made history by attending the previously all-white school at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
All of them were chosen for their academic excellence, but they still didn’t enter the school on the first day, and not even weeks later. Their entry was denied by an angry white mob and the Arkansas National Guard, who were called by the governor to prevent the Black students from entering the school.
The students arrived that day in a carpool that was arranged by the local NAACP chapter, but the 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford was unable to be reached to learn about the plan. So, she took the city bus and arrived two blocks away from the school. And as she approached the school, she faced the racist crowd alone.
One of the most heartbreaking photos in history is the one of Eckford being followed by a group of white protesters, chanting inappropriate chants.
President Eisenhower had to call in federal troops a few weeks later to finally get the students into the school, and Eckford can be seen walking in with her head high. However, what’s invisible is the courage it took for her to walk through the crowd of people threatening to take her life just for wanting to go to school.
So, after Eckford was barred entrance to the school, she tried to return home, but she was unable to because there were 250 angry people behind her. This is how Buddy Lonesome of the St. Louis Argus described the situation:
“The mob of twisted whites, galvanized into vengeful action by the inaction of the heroic state militia, was not willing that the young school girl should get off so easily. Elizabeth Eckford had walked into the wolf’s lair, and now that they felt she was fair game, the drooling wolves took off after their prey. The hate mongers, who look exactly like other, normal white men and women, took off down the street after the girl.”
he would get home eventually. At first, she sat on the edge of the bus stop bench as someone yelled “Drag her over to this tree!” A small group of journalists formed a makeshift barrier between her and the crowd. New York Times reporter Benjamin Fine sat down next to her, put his arm around her and said, “Don’t let them see you cry.” Later, after being asked if he’d overstepped his professional bounds, Fine replied, “A reporter has to be a human being.”
A white woman, Grace Lorch, escorted Eckford onto the bus, but not before she told the crowd that they’d all be ashamed of themselves someday. Eckford was relieved when Lorch got off the bus; her help, though undoubtedly well-intentioned, had only inflamed the hatred of the crowd. (Lorch and her husband would eventually move their family to Canada after facing harassment, job losses, and accusations of being communists for their civil rights activism.)
The Little Rock Nine spent a whole year being harassed, but eventually paved the way for other Black students in the state and the country to be able to attend which were previously all-white high schools.
Eckford recently celebrated her 80th birthday with a small celebration in front of Central High School, and also present at the celebration were student members of the Civil Rights Memory Project to honor her.
Source: Upworthy
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