Little Rock Nine Thesis Statement

The equality of black and white people has been a social injustice for many centuries. In 1957, nine black students were involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High (Little Rock Nine). The Little Rock Nine were the most influential group of students involved in the civil rights movement which is shown by the great impact they made making their legacy still stand today.

The Little Rock Nine story is an inspirational one. On September 25th, 1957, nine black students courageously entered Little Rock Central High and their entrance “…sparked a nationwide crisis…” (Little Rock Nine). As they were meeting their new classmates an uproar began outside the school and to ensure that the nine were safe, Dwight Eisenhower, the president

“It was historic, it was dramatic-and for weeks on end, it was profoundly ugly” (Life). When Governor Orville Faubus heard about the integration he went against the federal government and sent in the Arkansas National Guard to stop the nine students from entering the school (Life). Angry white mobs also gathered outside the school, making it impossible for the students to enter (Williams). This event was broadcasted across the nation and even the world. This was the first crucial test for the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision which declared that segregation is unconstitutional (50 Years). After all the persistent verbal and physical harassment they had received that year, Minnijean Brown was the first and only one to fight back. Brown was suspended and then later expelled for dropping her lunch tray on two white boys. Later, when asked why she retaliated she said, “I just can’t take everything they throw at me without fighting back.” Brown later moved and graduated from New Lincoln High School in 1959 (Little Rock Nine). The other eight students continued to attend Central until the end of the school year. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended Central’s graduation ceremony to help celebrate Ernest Green becoming the first black graduate in Little Rock Central High’s history on May 27, 1958 (Little Rock Nine). Although the students were put through the worst treatment, they were strong, determined individuals that knew this is what had to be