We Stand Together - Mary Martin D Block

W E S T A N D T O G E T H E R

The Knowledge We Ignored Article by Mary Martin D Block - Ms. Santora

I N T H E Y 1 9 5 9 O F O V E R 3 , 6 A T T E N D

E A R S S P T H E C I V 6 5 S T U D S C H O O L W H I T E

A N N I N G F R I L R I G H T S E N T S W E R E F O R B O T H C H I L D R E N

O M 1 9 5 8 T O M O V E M E N T , U N A B L E T O B L A C K A N D .

The intensity rose up between citizens and took over the town of Little Rock, Arkansas. This was a hard time for many families because of the deep need for education. Some students had to move away from home to go to school. This time in history was known as the Lost Year of Little Rock. This period led to great change, particularly in education due to the integration of schools, bringing attention to the Little Rock 9 which directly impacted the "lost year".

Segregation or Integration?

The goal of segregation was to separate the races. In the 1950s, over 21 states had segregated schools and the white students attending them were given substantially better resources than the black - only schools. For example, South Carolina spent 3 - times more money on the white schools than the black schools, giving the students of segregated, white schools an unfair advantage. The African - American students also had a shorter school year than the white schools in Mississippi. This deprived the students of a full education and the teachers and staff members of a full callery for the time they worked. According to the History learning site, “The value of white school property in South Carolina was six times that of black school property. This continues to support the unfair conditions of the black citizens living in the south.

D I D Y O U K N O W . . .

One the little rock nine students, Minnijean Brown, was expelled due to her self-defense actions of dropping her chili on two white boys at lunch.

The Little Rock 9 Unlike many of the African - American students, the Little Rock 9 were nine African American students who made the choice to support integration among schools and go to the central high school. The first time the tried to enter the school on September 4, 1957, the were escorted out to the end of the street by the national guard. Elizabeth Eckford was the first of the nine students to attempt going to the central high school. The eight other students joined her the following day. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas history and culture, “Eckford later said, ‘I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the mob—someone who maybe would help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.’” The violent actions of the crowd directed towards Elizabeth Eckford showed the opinions of many of the townspeople and continued to support segregation of school. But despite the setbacks, these nine students are best known for their outstanding bravery and for being one of the first groups of people to incline the movement of integration.

We Were Lost Segregation of schools grew with Act 4 of the sixteen bills, allowing any school to close due to the support of integration among the races.Little Rock listened to the new law and closed the central high school on September 12. Later, this leads to the closing of four more schools in the Little Rock area. These actions not only lead to students receiving no education for such a long period of time, but over 177 school staff members had to fulfill the requirements for their job, even though there was no one in the classrooms to teach. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas history and culture, “On September 27, ballots for reopening closed schools read: “For racial integration of all schools within the Little Rock School District,” and by a three-to-one margin, voters kept schools closed.”

A Reflection This vote kept the schools closed and eventually began the start of the Women’s Emergency Committee, a group of woman who shared no opinion in racial integration.

Their only goal was the try and reopen the schools. The lack of education and jobs for almost 4,000 people kept leading to the loss of patience for many and the desire to try and make a difference.

The Civil Rights era was a time of great change. Education was one major change because of many events and movements such as the little rock 9, who deeply supported school integration. It also had its fair share of rough times such as the “lost year” of Little Rock. The actions of Elizabeth Eckford, Act 4 of the sixteen bills allowing schools to close due to the support of integration, and the “lost year” of 1958 had a lasting impact on the minds of many people in the civil rights era, and in the present-day.

"If there is no struggle, then there is no progress."

- Frederick Douglas

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Little Rock Nine Encyclopedia of Arkansas. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017.

Lost Year - Encyclopedia of Arkansas. N.p., n.d.

Web. 04 June 2017.

"Education and Civil Rights." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017.