Desgregation
(In Arkansas)
The scene of Central High School
Sept. 4, 1957,
African American students attempt to enter Central High School in Little Rock.
What led up to this...
In 1954, in the Court case, Brown vs The Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for schools to segregate schools based on race. When the order came down from the federal government that all schools would begin to be desegregated, Arkansas governor, Orval Faubus, declared that the government was forcing this decision on an unwilling public and state government. Faubus directed the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school to stop any African Americans from entering. After being told to remove his troops by Federal Judge Davies, Faubus left the state and an angry mob behind him in Little Rock. This mob grew until President Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airborne Army unit to escort the Little Rock Nine.
Orval Faubus
Governor who disobeyed the federal government by not allowing for desegregation.
Little Rock Nine
The nine students who were escorted by the Army into Central High School.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Issued Executive Order 10730, which sent Army troops to protect the public in Little Rock and to escort the Little Rock Nine.