How Did Daisy Bates Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Introduction The Civil Rights Movement, beginning in 1954 and ending in 1968, brought upon drastic change on American society and is often remembered by the great leaders of the movement such as Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Goodman, Philip Randolph, E.D Nixon and many more. Often times, however, individuals with long-lasting impacts and influences are overlooked, simply because of their gender. Numerous women have spurred the movement forward when it was at a standstill acting as leaders and activists in their communities and yet history classes skim over them or act as if they were non-existent. One such influential woman of the movement was Daisy Bates. From 1941 to her death, Daisy Bates played several instrumental roles in the movement.

Daisy Bates had been raised by adoptive parents after the brutal rape and murder of her biological mother by three white men, who lived their lives punishment free. Her mother's death prompted her to be left by her father and raised by neighbors. Bates had been young when she found out the truth and the injustice that was served with her mother's death sparked rage in Bates that would later become her crusade for civil rights. In 1941, Daisy Bates and her soon to be husband, Lucius Christopher Bates, moved to Little Rock where together they opened up their own newspaper company- The Arkansas State Press. Arkansas state press was a weekly statewide distributed newspaper that pushed for equal rights and advertised the accomplishments of African-Americans in Little Rock. After moving to Little Rock, Bates almost immediately joined her local NAACP branch and then in 1952 she was elected president of the Branch. Bates initial goal was in general to achieve civil rights, but after the 1954 ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education, Bates focus shifted on the equal opportunity for educational attainment. This shift in focus led her to lead the Little Rock Nine in the integration of Little Rock Central High School. Her leadership in the Little Rock Integration Crisis is what Daisy Bates is most notably known for and for good reason. The leadership skills she presented and her role to the Little Rock Nine was monumental in executing a successful