Little Rock 9 - 50th Anniversary

On September 24, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10730. The order federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered the Secretary of Defense to employ the Arkansas soldiers as well as federal troops to enforce a federal district court order in Little Rock, Arkansas. Within hours 1,000 soldiers of the 327th Airborne Battle Group of the 101st Airborne Division deployed to Little Rock from their base in Kentucky.

The following morning, troops from the 327th surrounded Little Rock Central High School while a small detachment went to pick up nine neatly dressed black teenagers. After a short drive, the soldiers and their charges reached the school. Staring straight ahead the youngsters formed a single file and, surrounded by some of America's best soldiers carrying rifles with bayonets fixed, they marched through a jeering crowd into the school to begin the fall term after two previous failed attempts. As the nation and much of the world watched, Central High School became desegregated. The 14th amendment to the United States Constitution, which mandates that no American will be deprived of the equal protection of the laws, had been upheld.

This video is An interview with Mr. Ernest Green, of the original Little Rock 9.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Little
• Rock
• Arkansas
• Eisenhower
• Army

[indianajoneszilla]

Hey, Guy who who's comment is below mine. Fuck you. That is just plain racist.

[thatparkourdude]

@sleepyluiz13 And apparently the internet is full of racists who can't spell.

[SArmagh681]

Very brave kids, I only wish the 101st had gotten the chance to beat the shit out of a few of those racist fucks trying to protest the desegragation

[TheStealthNinja13]

hey guys you should read "Warriors Don't Cry" It's a book written by Melba Pattillo Beals. She was one of the Little Rock Nine and she tells everything she rememberes about the time. Its amazing.

[Halle9h]

They were so strong to go throw all this I admire them.

[cherubicnerd]

i admire people like this. i know they were scared out their minds but they kept going forward. people of today shouldn't be so arrogant just because a biracial man is in the white house. racism or any ism doesn't go aweay with one act or it would have disappeared when lincoln outlawed slavery,when women got the right to vote and work...

[muslimueez]

The national guard was originally there to prevent these nine icons into the school. However after the supreme court case brown v board of education which allowed the integration in public schools. Therefore the governer of Arkansas said that he would withdraw all soilders and police officers from the school. Leaving these nine children to the hands of the people of Arkansas who despised them. Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in the 101st airborne to escort these nine students to school everyday.

[Glassandcandy]

@Mizzuru True but it was of intense debate among most colonist and the founding fathers, it was a controversial issue and a rift had been formed ever since the country first took shape.

[Mizzuru]

@Glassandcandy But as a country slavery was still legal, infact it was legal long after the British Empire had outlawed any form of slavery.

[Ahscarina]

I'm kind of sick of people making reference to the founding father's intent when it comes to race and the constitution. Let's not delude ourselves into believing they weren't, for the most part, slave owning would-be segregationists themselves. Can we as a country move past needing their permission to do what our evolved democracy requires in order to achieve true equality?

[SRVHS12]

Thank you, National Guard, for letting these nine brave souls get the education they EQUALLY deserve!

[watchclassics]

So much hate when all these kids wanted to do is learn.