FAMOUS AUTUMNS

Three Months That Changed History

By Kristen Jones

In September 1957, a group of teens known as the “Little Rock Nine”—Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo Beals, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Terrence Roberts and Jefferson Thomas—challenged racial segregation in the public school system in Little Rock, Arkansas. They went on to become the face of the struggle among black students in the South to attend school with white students. The mere attendance of the Nine at the school sparked intense debate worldwide about racial equality, desegregation, and the lack of basic human and civil rights for black Americans. The summer before the school year kicked off, the black teens enrolled at Little Rock Central High School, which had previously been an all-white school. The enrollment caused much controversy although it was backed up by the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Many in the South were angered by the thought that white students would be in the same classrooms with black students. They refused to see this happen. Orval Faubus, the governor of Arkansas, was one of these whites. The night before the black students were to begin classes, he ordered the National Guard to block the entrance as they tried to enter the school the next day on September 3.

Although an order from a federal judge allowed the teens to begin school immediately, on September 4 they were met by an angry mob that included the National Guard sent to block their entrance to the school. The white protesters were yelling and shouting, and some even spat on the black students. The students weren’t able to enter the school that day or for another few weeks. National attention from the situation gained the sympathy of President Dwight Eisenhower. He ordered the National Guard troops to stand down, and on September 23, escorted by the police, the Nine entered the school through a mob of white protesters. Because of the rioting mob, the Nine attended only about three hours of learning before being snuck out of the school and taken home. On September 24, President Eisenhower sent more than a thousand soldiers from the U.S. TOP Arkansas National Guard blocks entrance of black students to Little Rock’s Central High School, September 1957.

Photo credit: Francis Miller/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

BOTTOM Elizabeth Eckford (glasses) faces a white racist mob, September 4, 1957.

Photo credit: Bellmann/Getty Images

White racism, 2021

Photo credit: Todd Wetherington/Sun Journal

Army’s 101st Airborne Division to get the situation under control. On September 25, with an escort of troops, the Little Rock Nine attended classes for their first full day. Of the nine students involved in this controversial episode in history, eight remain to remember what it was like to be the “most hated” teens in the country. Merely desiring an education turned out to be the catalyst for years of abuse and fighting. Although we are almost 64 years from this disgraceful incident, students today, including at Little Rock, continue to face unequal and often-degrading treatment. What happened to the fight for education and the idea of equality among students regardless of their race? Nowadays, black students are often shuffled to schools far away from their neighborhood to receive an education otherwise not possible. Either that or they are subjected to a school in their neighborhood that is lacking in essential tools and supplies to properly teach them. It seems that many of the hardships endured by these nine students continue to be the plight of black youth today. The remaining high school years were turbulent for each student. Whether they were bullied constantly or called names, they continued to strive for excellence and did not let anything stop them from attending school.

Ernest Green, the only senior to integrate the school, was the first African American graduate of Little Rock’s Central High School, graduating on May 25, 1958. Martin Luther King Jr. attended the event, which was an important accomplishment. Green attended Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 and a master’s degree in sociology in 1964.

Melba Pattillo Beals moved to Santa Rosa, Calif., where she attended high school her senior year. She earned a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University and a doctorate from the University of San Francisco. She also earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is a mother of three.

Minnijean Brown Trickey was suspended for dumping chili on a group of white boys who wouldn’t let her pass by at lunch and was later expelled following another incident involving white female students. She went on to live with a family in New York where she graduated from New Lincoln High School. After graduating Southern Illinois University with a degree in journalism, Trickey moved to Canada and received a master’s in social work from Carleton University in Ontario. She later worked for President Bill Clinton as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity at the Department of the Interior. She is a mother of six.

Carlotta Walls LaNier, who was the youngest of the teens, graduated in 1960 and was the first African American female to graduate from the school. Even though her home was bombed on February 9, 1960, while she was at home, she said it did not stop her from wanting to continue her education. She attended Michigan State University for two years before graduating from Colorado State College. She then went on to discover a love for real estate and has been running her real estate company for decades.

Gloria Ray Karlmark graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s in chemistry and mathematics. She worked for a while as a teacher, then moved to Sweden where she became a systems analyst, technical writer and patent agent. She worked for IBM and founded the journal Computers in Industry, serving as editor-in-chief from 1976-1991.

Thelma Mothershed graduated from Central High School through correspondence courses. She graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in home economics and then earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling in 1970 and an administrative certificate in education in 1972. She taught home economics and retired as a teacher after 28 years. She has one son.

Elizabeth Eckford (pictured being yelled and spat at) spent one year at Central High School and struggled afterwards. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from Central State University, then later joined the military and served five years. Her son was killed by the police in 2003, and she has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In 2019, Eckford traveled to New Zealand to teach civil rights history to thousands of students.

Terrence Roberts moved to California after the closing of Little Rock’s high schools during 1958-1959. He graduated from Los Angeles High School and then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1967. He received his master’s degree in social welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Social Welfare in 1970 and his Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 1976. Roberts published his first memoir in 2009 and released his second book in 2010.

Despite being harassed, the now-deceased Jefferson Thomas (d. 2010), went on to graduate from Central High School in 1960 and then went on to attend Wayne State University before moving to California. He served as treasurer of the NAACP Youth Council. He also attended Los Angeles State University where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration. During the Vietnam War, Thomas served in the Army as an infantryman.