Summary Of The Long Shadow Of Little Rock By Daisy Bates

Daisy Bates was the author of a memoir titled The Long Shadow of Little Rock 1962. Bates discusses the trials and tribulations she faced throughout her childhood and into adulthood. Daisy Bates helped nine African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in the fall of 1957. She published a weekly African American newspaper, the Arkansas State Press. Bates also became the president of the Arkansas chapter of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The Long Shadow of Little Rock depicts the white backlash that African Americans faced during the civil rights era. The civil rights era refers to a time in American history when African Americans fought

Nine African American students were selected to be the first to enter the all-white school. The Little Rock Nine consisted of Melba Pattillo, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Minnijean Brown, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Jefferson Thomas, Gloria Ray, and Thelma Mothershed. On their first day to attend their new school they were escorted in by U.S. soldiers. After Bates helped get the student into the school she mentioned to have heard a man yell “So they sneaked them in behind our back. That’s all we need. Let’s go get our shotguns!” (Bates 90). This is another example to support the argument that white backlash was a very serious issue that real people had to endure. All these students wanted to do was to be able to get the same level of education, however because of their complexion they could not adjust the same as a white student might

Bates mentioned that “Police brutality was rampant. Negroes were beaten unmercifully by the city police of Little Rock at the slightest provocation.” (Bates 34). It was only a matter of time before the innocent death of an African American soldier occurred. Thomas P. Foster was “… one of the most popular and respected soldier on the post” (Bates 34). Bates arrived at the scene to report the incident for newspaper only to find the silent gathering of the community in honor of Foster. After arriving Bates observed the actions of a fellow African American soldier. “A Negro soldier standing next to me was crying openly. He threw his neatly pressed Army cap on the ground and stamped on it with the irreverence born of anger and bitterness” (Bates 34). The white community tried to ignore that anything had even happened. This only made the black community even angrier as if all their efforts for equality had taken twenty steps