Transcripts For CSPAN3 Little Rock Central High School Prese

With a visit to the school. A u. S. Park ranger will show us around the Historic Site. Welcome to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic site. My name is spirit tricky. Im a park ranger at the site. And my significant tie to the story is the fact that my mother Minnijean Brown is one of the little rock nine. The name coined by the media to describe the first nine black students to desegregate Central High School. The grounds youre standing on became world famous in 1957. Because the first nine black students walked up the steps. On september 25. Our exhibits put the little rock central high crisis in the context of the greater civil rights muchlt movement. They begin with slavery and the institution and the fact that blacks had absolutely to rights. Considered property. And even three fifths a person. Not even a full human being. If you have an institution like that, that flourishes for hundreds of years, even when the laws change. Its still imbedded in peoples minds and psych. So we think its important to set the tone for what happened in the later years. For example a very Important Supreme Court case we focus on is the 1896. Which established the separate but equal doctrine. Putting a stamp a legal stamp on jim crow laws and black codes that flourished throughout the united states. We could be here for very long time creating this very long list. Everything from Transportation Systems to restaurants. Hotels, neighborhoods, hospitals, when during segregation the hospitals were segregated and there have been cases where a black person needing Emergency Assistance even if the white hospital was closer, they couldnt make it over to the Black Hospital in time. The colored hospital as it was called and so ended up dying. Even cemeteries were segregated. Basically everything was segregated. And this was the law. And you know when were talking to Young Students and theyre like well, if you break the law you go to jail. Also this was a time of terror. White groups took it upon themselves like the kkk to maintain and to keep the system in place. It was the law but also it was reenforced by violence and sometimes murder. So thats how the system was maintained. So for many years, many people struggled to try to break down this system. But they finally decided lets tackle it through the legal system. Thorough good marshall and other Legal Authority Legal Defense fund banded together to create a class action lawsuit. The brown vs. Board of education case. Of 1954. So they used four states to show that denying black students an equal education was unconstitutional. It was denying them their 14th amendment right. Of the constitution. So in 1954 the brown v board case was handed down. Here in little rock on the local level it was up to the local School Board Superintendent of schools to implement their own plan. Central high school was built in 1927. It was considered one of the most beautiful high schools in america. By the American Institute of architects. 600,000 square feet. Everything you see here now is as it originally was. Statues over the doors of the school that read ambition personal, opportunity and preparation. And how ironic they stand above the steps that denied students entrance. Black students until 1957. Across the way after they built central, they didnt have enough funding to complete the black school. Dun bar. And so the black community had to actually drum up private Foundation Money to construct the school. And were able to raise 400,000. So right from the beginning you have a school that 1. 5 million was invested. Vs. 4,000. Teacher salary was based on skin color. Central had thousands of brand new books. And dun bar had to use hand me down books after they were finished with them at central. Central had start of the art science equipment. And dun bar did not. So at central they would have a station where the students could Work Together as partners and hands on work through their experiment. At dun bar they had to sit back and watch the teacher. Just observe. I always ask Young Students if you want to go into the medical field, which school do you think would offer the best advantage . And of course central. Central was sending students to college. And there are many reasons why the kids decided to sign up. Besides that, some students live closer to central than to dun bar. So it was a simple reason. They were regular teenagers and thought maybe we can walk to school. Its closer. So leading up to september when the school year was o begin. Many students signed up. The list dwindled down to ten nshlly on the first day. And ultimately land at nine. One student jane hills parents told her she couldnt come back to central after she saw the mob scene on the first day. The reasons why the list came down to just nine they were told they cannot participate in any extracurricular activity. They cant attend basketball games. Cant go to prom, cant approximate in the choir, kaept be in the band. Cant do anything but go to and from class. So if you have a thrive lg student life at dun bar or the newly constructed black school, why would you want to transfer . Names dropped off the list because of that. Then there was the threat that if your child decides to go central you can lose your job. So some parents made the decision not to allow students to go. The threat of the violence. People started receiving Death Threats and bomb threats at their house. So thats how the list dropped down it nine. So leading up to the first day of school, people began to organize and come out on this lawn. Actually right in the street. And protest integration. A couple organized groups. The mothers league. White citizen counsel. Some ran adds in the newspaper saying do you really want your white children going to school with black children . Imagine they might be enacting tender lo scenes in drama class. They were stepping up the segregationist campaign. There was fear. But the little rock nine and families had no idea what they were getting into. So the night before school started. Governor made a tell sized speech saying he was calling out the National Guard to maintain order. Keep the peace and protect the lives and property of the citizens. So they were under the impression when they showed up the next day the soldiers would be there to protect them. They realize very quickly that the soldiers were actually standing around the school to keep them out. Eight of students met up at a certain point. Realized that i had were not going to make it in. And left. One student elizabeth. 15 years old. Arrived to go to school by herself. She and her sister spent the two weeks leading up sewing her own dress. She wanted to look pretty for the first day. She was nervous and excited. When she showed up on the corner of 13th and park by herself. She got off the bus and made her way to the corner of park and 14th. She approached one of the guards men and asked if she can get inside the school. Which door can i take. And he blocked her entrance and said i have strict orders to only allow white students in. At that point she began one of the longest walks of her life. She made her way down park street in front of Central High School. The mob closed in on her. There were hundreds of people who gathered to protest. And they began to follow her. The entire way down the street. They were screaming at her rkts spitting on her. Calling her names saying go back to africa. Drag her to the tree. Lynch her. One woman she approached she said i try to see a friendly face somewhere in the mob. Who can maybe help. I looked into the face of an old woman. It seemed a kind face. When i looked again she spat on me. And kept walking. She finally made it to the end of the street. See the brick building there on the left. That was ponders drugstore which was open for business and open on that day. Elizabeth thought maybe i can call a cab or many i mother. When shi attempted to open the door the owner locked it. Leaf leaving her alone with a mob. A New York Times reporter said dont let them see you cry. A white woman tried to calm the mob down and say what if this was your child. You should be ashamed. According to to elizabeth that aroused the mob more. And she finally got on the bus. And made it to her mother safely. To this very day, that moment in time is etched in her memory. So the day after that, the guards men remained around the school. So they didnt even try to make another attempt. The news spread around the world. This was one of the first news events to circle the globe. People were horrified to see on the front page elizabeth being followed by this mob. With peoples mouths wide open. And not only circled the u. S. , but on a global scale. To the point where foreign leaders were putting pressure on president eisenhower to do something to fix the situation. So president eisenhower met with governor. And was under the impression they had an agreement. You have to remove the guard. Youre obstructing justice. So he left. The mob scene in the control of the city police. Which they couldnt handle. The students were ushered into the school on september 23. They made it to class. But by noon, they were gathering the students up because the mob was breaking down the barricades. So president eisenhower said this is not necessarily my personal opinion. But as president its many duty to uphold the constitution. Im issuing an executive order calling out 1,000 troops from the airborne. From kentucky. To come to little rock to surround Central High School to take them into the school. Those who were here described it as a war zone. They came in jeeps and helicopters. And landed their helicopters in the baseball field behind the school. And set up camp. And on september 25, 1957, the little rock nine were escorted into the school under the protection of the airborne. The soldiers pulled up in a caravan. Stopped about ten feet from where were standing now. And there were many soldiers waiting for them. They surrounded the nine and marched them up the front steps. So, i want to stop there and see if anybody has questions. Up to this point. I would love to walk you up the historic steps. That the little rock nine broke down the color barrier in 1957. Where was the entrance where the nine. The nine walked right down this path. And well take the walk. Up the left hand steps. Into the school. Under the same walk you see here . You mean the has this been re it has been refurbished. A variety of things. Although what you see is exactly how it was. The location is it same . For example the reflecting pool is a original. However it was paved over. At a certain point. And the National Park service worked with Central High School to bring it back to life. Even down to some of the trees. We want to maintain the historic integrity. And i dont know if we have time. If youd like maybe we can sneak in and catch a glimpse of the audi tomorrow. The seating is original. Its always a balancing act to maintain the historic integrity and the comfort of the students. Yes . Is the dun bar School Building Still Standing. It is. Its a jr. High school. A middle school. Sorry. And its Still Standing in the place it was. Central and dun bar look similar. Because they were based off of a similar plan. However central is three times the size of dun bar. Whats the racial make up of the school now . Racial make up i was just saying earlier. Central high school is under court order desegregation for over 50 years. So they were mandated to maintain racial balance. That are now under the supervision of the school board. Of the balance exists. Its approximately 50 black students, 47 white. And 3 of other ethnicities. They have an International Magnet program where they attract students from all over the world. Call this a tragic and beautiful story. Because its tragic because of the pain that was inflicted on the students. But its beautiful because of the out come. And. And what it led to. Yes. Exactly. So i just im going to give you a snapshot of what it was like once the students got inside the school. And we can walk up the steps. So, after the soldiers ushered them in. They were issued their own personal soldier to walk them to and from class. Soldiers were not allowed to go in the bathroom, change room. Classroom, and auditorium. So thats where a will the of the physical and Emotional Abuse took place. On a regular basis, the kids were spit on, food was thrown on their clothes. Thumb tacks in their chairs. Glass was shattered in the shower room. Earnest green had someone pea on his gym clothes. Gym was frightening because they throw balls at them. Trip them, push them downstairs. Some of the parents when they came to pick up their students if it was winter they would throw snowballs. And the soldiers could only protect them walking them to and from class. There are so many different experiences among the nine. Which even to this day they havent really thoroughly discussed with one another. Just yesterday, its amazing how i learn more and more every day. I was sent an article about one of the arkansas National Guards men. It said he remembered my mother very well. Because he had to intervene on a situation where a group of about five girls were dunking her head in the toilet. And i didnt even know that until yesterday. Its ever evolving. To put it lightly, they were harassed every day. Did your mother find it difficult to talk about those experiences . Yes. She as well as the rest of the nine didnt really talk about it. We being the children of the nine have a very similar experience that our parents didnt tell us about it. I learned about this later in life. When i say later, i mean i talked to kids in the third grade who know more about it than i did. I learned about it as a teenager myself. And it was so painful. Even until my grandmother died a couple years ago at age 92, i dould count on my hand how many conversations she was able to have about the situation. We have done oral history interviews with the little rock nine. They parents. White students who went to central. Guards men. Police officers, etc. So we have a lot of testimony. But a very difficult to talk about. So they continued on throughout the year and their tactic was nonviolence. Its been said that they had nonviolence training. But theres an interesting story that they adopted that philosophy on their own. That was their only tactic of survival. They couldnt fight back. The consequences could be too great. They didnt have soldiers when they went home. They suffered greatly throughout the year. There were 1,800 white students students, theres documentation that indicates that 15 students made it their daily duty to make their lives miserable. But there were a handful of nice students, kind students, and kind during that time was merely smiling at them or saying good morning or sharing a book when you saw that they did not have a book. And as Elizabeth Eckford says today, a smile can save someones life. So the rest of the students were bystanders. Some saw what was happening and did nothing about it. Some of the students have come back and reflected upon that time and still feel horrible about the fact that they stood by and watched. So finally, earnest green was the first black student to graduate from Central High School in 1958. And dr. Martin luther king attended his graduation ceremony. My mother was the only student who got expelled. She got expelled for dropping chili on some boys in the cafeteria after being harassed. And the next year, the citizens of little rock voted to delay integration. And governor faubus used his power to shut down the public high schools. The schools wiere reopened. And Central High School has been functioning ever since. Any issue were dealing with, today or in the future, you can always look to the central high crisis as a blueprint on how do you want to be remembered . Where do you stand . Do you want to be the silent majority . Do you want to be someone who steps forward and puts their life on the line to be nice . Risk everything like the nice white students did at central . Their parents lost their jobs. They started receiving Death Threats, bomb threats, or do you want to be somebody who is harassing somebody . And breaking down their spirit. So at this point, i would like to walk you up the steps of the hess tor historic Central High School. And we can stop and take pictures if youd like to, then we can walk to the garden and back over to the Historic Site. I would put it in the greater context. For example, some of the students, their churches were telling them, this is how they need to behave. Their parents were telling them, their churches were telling them, society was telling them this is how you should think and behave. So it always needs to be put in the context that they grew up in this time. So, and i always think to myself, how some people did think outside of that and where does that come from . My father was a white civil rights activist. And last night i watched the freedom riders documentary. And there were so many white people involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and i dont know if we always recognize that. It was a Civil Rights Movement of all types of people that knew that this, you know, injustice is wrong, period. It doesnt matter who its inflicted upon. Its wrong. And so yes, definitely a lot of the students were a product of their environment. If your church is telling you that integration is an abomination against god, why would we think the students would behave otherwise. Does anybody else have any questions . Were there any white churches that spoke out . Th