The Little Rock Nine were a group of young black students that integrated Little Rock Central High School. This particular group began to desegregate schools around the United States. They experienced a violate fight. Melba Pattillo Beals was born on December 7, 1941, in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was raised by her mother, Lois, who had been the first African American to graduate from the University of Arkansas in 1954. Minnijean Brown- Trickey was born September 11, 1941, in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was only 16 years old when she entered Little Rock Central High School. Minnijean was the first suspended and expelled for fighting back. She moved to New York and lived with Kenneth B. and Mamie Clark. She graduated from New York Lincoln School. …show more content…
Their first attempt to enter the school was on September 4, 1957. That morning there were 100 armed National Guard troops and 400 white students and parents standing outside the school. The National Guard refused to let the nine students the enter the school. The Little Rock Nine stayed home for the next two weeks, until the judge ordered the removal of Arkansas National Guard and police escorts for the students. (). On September 23, 1957, the Little Rock Nine tried to get in Central High School a second time. The second time they were successful by gaining entry through a side door. The mob became infuriated when they heard that the black students were inside of the school (). For their safety, the police hurried and got them out of the school (). On September 24, 1957, the U.S. Congressman, Brook Hayes and Arkansas’s mayor Woodrow Mann sent a telegram to President Dwight Eisenhower, one of the first black president, to maintain order and to help complete the integration process (). President Eisenhower immediately approved the deployment of U.S. troops to Arkansas. On September 25, 1957, The Little Rock Nine entered the school under armed guards. The troops remained there all throughout the school year. Ernest Green was the only student to make it to the very end. Minnijean Brown was suspended and later expelled for fighting with the whites. On May 25, 1958, Ernest Green became the first African-American to graduate from Central High School. Sitting next to Green’s family was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After graduating high school, Ernest Green attended Michigan State University, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1962 and a master’s degree in 1964. Elizabeth did not graduate from Central High, due to its closure. She joined the military and earned her G.E.D. Minnijean graduated from New York Lincoln School. She attended Southern