The events that occurred at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 are some of the most important events in U.S. history.
In September 1957, nine Black students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
The board elected to use Central High School as an integration site because it was located on the border of a black neighborhood, making it easier for federal troops to protect the nine black students who planned to attend classes there.
The students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were met with violent opposition by white students and parents, who were outraged by the desegregation of the school.
In response, Governor Orval Faubus had called out the National Guard to prevent them from entering the school, but President Eisenhower ordered him to stand down. The students were eventually able to enter the school after President Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops to ensure their safety.
The incident provoked national outrage and debate over how best to maintain school segregation in America. It also began a new period of activism by civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., who had been working for years for equal rights for African Americans.
