On This Day in History: The Little Rock Nine integrated Central High School, defying segregation

Over 60 years ago the Little Rock Nine made history when they entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Today, over 60 years ago, nine Black teenagers, escorted by federal troops, walked into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and made history.

The fight to get them there began years earlier. In 1954, the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision declared school segregation unconstitutional, but many Southern states resisted.

By 1957, the Little Rock School Board announced a gradual plan to desegregate. The NAACP carefully selected a small group of students to lead the charge, vetting them for academic strength and resilience, and preparing them through counseling on how to face the violence they would encounter. 

As one of the students, Melba Pattillo Beals later recalled in an interview, “I wanted to go because they had more privileges.” 

“For me, I understood education before I understood anything else. It was not an overwhelming desire to go to this school and integrate this school and change history. Oh no, there was none of that,” she continued. “I don’t necessarily want to be with those people. I assumed that being with those people would be no different than being with the people that I was already with. I had no idea, none whatsoever, until the adventure started that it would be this way.”

On September 25, 1957, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Thelma Mothershed Wair, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Beals, and Carlotta Walls LaNier (the youngest in the group) entered Central High School under the protection of the 101st Airborne Division sent by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Little Rock Nine, as they became known, were the first Black students to attend the previously all-white school—a moment that forced the nation to reckon with the promise of desegregation.

However, it had not come easily. Weeks earlier, the Nine had tried to enter but were blocked by the Arkansas National Guard, sent by Governor Orval Faubus to keep them out. Eckford, who, through a communication mishap, arrived alone on the morning of September 4, 1957, was famously captured in an iconic photograph as the mob screamed racial slurs and threats at her. 

Later that month, they managed only three hours inside before escalating violence forced their removal. It was only after Eisenhower’s intervention that they were able to begin attending regular classes starting on September 25. From then on, their days were marked by verbal abuse, physical intimidation, and constant isolation. Still, they endured.

Despite daily torment, they pressed on and went on to lead remarkable lives. Green became the first Black graduate of Central High in 1958 and later served as Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Jimmy Carter. LaNier built a career in real estate and became a celebrated speaker. Roberts became a psychologist and professor. Brown Trickey worked as a social worker and activist. Beals became a journalist and author of “Warriors Don’t Cry.” Eckford served in the U.S. Army and worked as a probation officer. Karlmark pursued a career in technology and education abroad. Wair dedicated her life to teaching and counseling.

Thomas joined the Army after graduation and served during the Vietnam War before working at the Department of Defense. He became the first of the Nine to pass away, in 2010, from pancreatic cancer.

Decades after their historic mission, their bravery was recognized. In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded them the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2009, they were honored guests at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. 

More than 65 years later, the story of the Little Rock Nine remains a reminder of how much change was brought about in this country through the bravery of young people. 

“There had to be people willing to challenge,” Green has said of their history-making fight. “I thought if I could open the door, then other people would be able to walk through.”