DOCSLIB.ORG

Commonlit | Showdown in Little Rock

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Commonlit | Showdown in Little Rock Name: Class: Showdown in Little Rock By USHistory.org 2016 This informational text discusses the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine exemplary black students chosen to be the first African Americans to enroll in an all-white high school in the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock. Arkansas was a deeply segregated southern state in 1954 when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The Little Rock Crisis in 1957 details how citizens in favor of segregation tried to prevent the integration of the Little Rock Nine into a white high school. As you read, note the varied responses of Americans to the treatment of the Little Rock Nine. [1] Three years after the Supreme Court declared race-based segregation illegal, a military showdown took place in the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock. On September 3, 1957, nine black students attempted to attend the all-white Central High School. The students were legally enrolled in the school. The National Association for the Advancement of "Robert F. Wagner with Little Rock students NYWTS" by Walter Colored People (NAACP) had attempted to Albertin is in the public domain. register students in previously all-white schools as early as 1955. The Little Rock School Board agreed to gradual integration, with the Superintendent Virgil Blossom submitting a plan in May of 1955 for black students to begin attending white schools in September of 1957. The School Board voted unanimously in favor of this plan, but when the 1957 school year began, the community still raged over integration. When the black students, known as the “Little Rock Nine,” attempted to enter Central High School, segregationists threatened to hold protests and physically block the students from entering the school. Under the pretext of maintaining order but in support of the segregationists, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine from entering the school. After a federal judge declared the action illegal, Faubus removed the troops. When the students tried to enter again on September 24, they were taken into the school through a back door. Word of this spread throughout the community, and a thousand irate1 citizens stormed the school grounds. The police desperately tried to keep the angry crowd under control as concerned onlookers whisked2 the students to safety. The nation watched all of this on television. President Eisenhower3 was compelled to act. 1. Irate (adjective): very angry 2. Whisk (verb): to move to another place very quickly 3. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) was President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He is also well- known for his outstanding military service as a U.S. General during World War II. 1 [5] Eisenhower was not a strong proponent of civil rights. He feared that the Brown v. Board of Education4 Supreme Court decision could lead to an impasse5 between the federal government and the states. Now that very stalemate6 had come. The rest of the country seemed to side with the black students, and the Arkansas state government was defying7 a federal decree.8 The situation hearkened9 back to the dangerous federal-state conflicts of the 19th century that followed the end of the Civil War.10 On September 24, after the mayor of Little Rock asked President Eisenhower for help enforcing integration, Eisenhower ordered the troops of the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock, marking the first time United States troops were dispatched to the South since Reconstruction.11 He federalized12 the Arkansas National Guard in order to remove the soldiers from Faubus’s control. For the next few months, the African American students attended school under armed supervision. Even so, they faced physical and verbal abuse from their white peers. The Little Rock Nine were instructed, just as during the pro-segregation protests, not to respond or react to these taunts. The following year, Little Rock School District officials under the command of Faubus closed the schools to prevent integration. But in 1959, the schools were open again. Both black and white children were in attendance. The tide was slowly turning in favor of those advocating civil rights for African Americans. An astonished America watched footage of brutish,13 white southerners mercilessly14 harassing African American children calmly walking into school, intent on getting an education. Television swayed public opinion toward integration. In 1957, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, the first such measure since Reconstruction. The law created a permanent civil rights commission to assist black suffrage.15 The measure had little teeth16 and proved ineffective, but it paved the way for more powerful legislation in the years to come. Showdown in Little Rock by USHistory.org is licensed under CC BY 4.0. 4. In Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to separate schools by race. 5. Impasse (noun): a situation in which no progress seems possible 6. Stalemate (noun): a disagreement in which neither side can win 7. Defy (verb): to refuse to obey 8. A federal decree is a national law, and therefore overrides any conflicting state laws. 9. Hearken (verb): to give attention to 10. The American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. 11. The Reconstruction era lasted from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1877. It was a period of transformation for the Southern United States following their defeat and destruction in the war, and historians often consider it a failure because the South was left facing poverty and racial discrimination. 12. Federalize (verb): to cause something to be under control of the federal government 13. Brutish (adjective): cruel, violent, and stupid 14. Merciless (adjective): having or showing no mercy; very cruel or harsh 15. Suffrage (noun): the right to vote 16. little ability to work effectively or enforce itself 2 Text-Dependent Questions Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences. 1. PART A: Which of the following best identifies a central idea of the text? [RI.2] A. President Eisenhower used the Little Rock crisis as an excuse to display the federal government’s power over states. B. Segregationists made solid arguments against integration in their protests that prompted many Americans to protest integration. C. The public crisis in Little Rock made many Americans determined to have the federal government enforce segregation. D. The Little Rock Nine helped break racial barriers in American education despite great opposition. 2. PART B: Which phrase from the text best supports the answer to Part A? [RI.1] A. “When the students tried to enter again on September 24, they were taken into the school through a back door. Word of this spread throughout the community, and a thousand irate citizens stormed the school grounds.” (Paragraph 3) B. “The police desperately tried to keep the angry crowd under control as concerned onlookers whisked the students to safety. The nation watched all of this on television. President Eisenhower was compelled to act.” (Paragraphs 4-5) C. “The rest of the country seemed to side with the black students, and the Arkansas state government was defying a federal decree. The situation hearkened back to the dangerous federal-state conflicts of the 19th century that followed the end of the Civil War.” (Paragraph 5) D. “The following year, Little Rock School District officials under the command of Faubus closed the schools to prevent integration. But in 1959, the schools were open again. Both black and white children were in attendance.” (Paragraph 7) 3. PART A: Which statement best describes the relationship between the Arkansas state [RI.3] government and the federal government in the text? A. Arkansas’ governor resisted federal laws on integration because of his strong belief in state’s rights regarding integration. B. Arkansas’ governor defied federal laws on integration because of local segregationists’ deeply held beliefs on race. C. Eisenhower’s delayed response in the Little Rock crisis was caused by his fear of violent protests protected by the Arkansas government. D. Eisenhower was quick to respond in Little Rock because he wanted to set an example with the Arkansas government on how states shouldn’t ignore federal law. 3 4. PART B: Which quote from the text best supports your answer to Part A? [RI.1] A. “Under the pretext of maintaining order but in support of the segregationists, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine from entering the school.” (Paragraph 3) B. “The situation hearkened back to the dangerous federal-state conflicts of the 19th century that followed the end of the Civil War.” (Paragraph 5) C. “He feared that the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision could lead to an impasse between the federal government and the states.” (Paragraph 5) D. “Eisenhower ordered the troops of the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock, marking the first time United States troops were dispatched to the South since Reconstruction.” (Paragraph 6) 5. How does the subject shift in paragraph 4 contribute to the development of the [RI.5] [RI.3] central ideas of the text? Cite evidence from the text in your answer. 4 Discussion Questions Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared to share your original ideas in a class discussion. 1. Why do you think that the Little Rock Nine was instructed not to react to physical and verbal abuse from community members and fellow students? How did this impact their image and the integration movement? 2. Schools today are all legally integrated; however, due to communities that are segregated based on cultural or financial reasons (rather than legal reasons), many schools are predominantly white or predominantly black or predominantly Latino.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE September 25, 1997
    H7838 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE September 25, 1997 and $200 billion deficits as far as the willing to go to any length to overturn thing sometime. When is this House eye could see. the election of Congresswoman LORET- going to be ready? When will the lead- With a determination to save the TA SANCHEZ. The committee majority ership of this House be prepared to American dream for the next genera- is in the process of sharing the Immi- clean up the campaign finance mess we tion, the Republican Congress turned gration and Naturalization Service have in this country? the tax-and-spend culture of Washing- records of hundreds of thousands of Or- This House, the people's House, ton upside down and produced a bal- ange County residents with the Califor- should be the loudest voice in the cho- anced budget with tax cuts for the nia Secretary of State. These records rus. We must put a stop to big money American people. Now that the Federal contain personal information on law- special interests flooding the halls of Government's financial house is finally abiding U.S. citizens, many of them our Government. It is time, Madam in order, the big question facing Con- targeted by committee investigators Speaker, for the Republican leadership gress, and the President, by the way, is simply because they have Hispanic sur- to join with us to tell the American what is next? With the average family names or because they reside in certain people that the buck stops here. still paying more in taxes than they do neighborhoods, and that is an outrage.
    [Show full text]
  • White Backlash in the Civil Rights Movement: a Study of the White Responses to the Little Rock Crisis of 1957 Abby Motycka, Clas
    White Backlash in the Civil Rights Movement: A Study of the White Responses to the Little Rock Crisis of 1957 Abby Motycka, Class of 2017 For my honors project in the Africana Studies Department I decided to research the response from white southern citizens during the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. I want to explain the significance of Little Rock and its memorable story of desegregation broadcasted across the nation. Little Rock was in many ways the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and a representation of tension between state and federal governments. The population shifted to appear predominantly segregationist and actively invested in halting plans for integration. Many white citizens chose not to participate, but others chose to join violent, vicious mobs. The complex environment leading up to the crisis of Little Rock was unexpected given the city’s reputation of liberality and particularly progressive southern Governor. No one could have predicted the nation’s first massive backlash to Brown v. Board of Education to be ignited in the small capitol of Arkansas or foreseen the mob violence that would follow. Analyzing white southern responses to African Americans at this time exposes the many dangerous ideologies and practices associated with American culture. Little Rock provides a specific location and event to compare to the other significant moments of white counter protest events in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Atlanta. I want to know how the white population evolved from moderate to outspoken on issues of education over the already integrated bus systems and stores. In my project, I explore approaches the white administration chose to take, including the School Board and the state government, to explain the initial and evolving response the state of Arkansas had to the Brown v.
    [Show full text]
  • OBJ (Application/Pdf)
    NEWS FROM DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY FOR RELEASE: JUNE 5, 1958 LITTLE ROCK NINE AND <RS. BATES'" TO RECEIVE ANNUAL SPINGARN M'EDAT NEV/ YORK, June 5.--Nine Negro teenagers, the first of their race to enroll in Central High School of Little Rock, and Mrs. L.C. Bates, their mentor and president of the Arkansas State Conference of Branches, have been chosen as this year's recipients of the Spingarn Medal, Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, announced here today. The medal, awarded annually to a Negro American for distinguished achievement, will be presented at the 49th annual NAACP convention in Cleveland, Precedents Broken In selecting Mrs. Bates and these six girls and three boys, the Spingarn Award Committee broke two precedents. For the first time, the award, regarded as the most coveted in the field, is being given to a group rather than an individual. Also for the first time minors are recipients of the award. The children and Mrs. Bates are cited for "their courageous self-restraint in the face of extreme provocation and peril," and for "their exemplary conduct in upholding the American ideals of liberty and justice." Their role in the Little Rock crisis, the citation continues, "entitles them to the gratitude of every American who believes in law and order, equality of rights, and human decency." The young people entered Central High last September in compliance with a federal district court order. They were at first denied admittance by Arkansas state troopers acting on orders of Governor Orval E.
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching the Civil Rights Movement in Florida: a Phenomenological Study of Central Florida Teachers
    University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2013 Teaching The Civil Rights Movement: A Phenomenological Study Of Central Florida Teachers Barbara Houser University of Central Florida Part of the Education Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Houser, Barbara, "Teaching The Civil Rights Movement: A Phenomenological Study Of Central Florida Teachers" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2951. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2951 TEACHING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN FLORIDA: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA TEACHERS by BARBARA HOUSER B. A. Southern Connecticut State University, 1982 M. A. University of Central Florida, 2007 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education and Human Performance at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2013 Major Professor: William Russell © 2013 Barbara Houser ii ABSTRACT Teaching the civil rights movement can be challenging. Many history textbooks contain the national story of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the march to Selma, Alabama, and not much more. Classrooms across the United States follow this path of nationalizing the civil rights movement. This interpretation is only a small part of the civil rights crusade that existed throughout the United States, including in the state of Florida.
    [Show full text]
  • Remarks on Signing Legislation to Establish the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site November 6, 1998
    Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 / Nov. 6 Remarks on Signing Legislation To Establish the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site November 6, 1998 Thank you very much. You know, when Ernie rorist attack. No nation should live under the was up here introducing me, I remembered that threat of violence and terror that they live under he was the only senior among the Little Rock every day. Nine. He graduated in the spring in 1958, and When Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chair- when they called him up to receive his diploma, man Arafat signed the Wye River agreement, the whole auditorium was quiet, not a single they knew they would face this moment. They person clapped. But we're all clapping for you knew when they went home both of them would today, buddy. be under more danger and the terrorists would I would like to thank all the members of target innocent civilians. They knew they would the Little Rock Nine who are here, including have to muster a lot of courage in their people Elizabeth Eckford, Carlotta LaNier, Jefferson to stick to the path of peace in the face of Thomas, Minnijean Trickey, Terrence Roberts. repeated acts of provocation. Melba Pattillo Beals is not here. Gloria Ray There are some people, you know, who have Karlmark is not here. Thelma Mothershed-Wair a big stake in the continuing misery and hatred is not here. I think we should give all of them in the Middle East, and indeed everywhere else another hand. [Applause] in this whole world, just like some people had I would like to thank Congressman Elijah a big stake in continuing it in Little Rock over Cummings, Congressman Gregory Meeks for 40 years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Domestic Policy Of
    Civil Rights in the 50s Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) “Separate but equal” “Equal” Alabama Classroom Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka (1954) Linda Brown Thurgood Marshall Result: School Integration Monroe Elementary School The Murder of Emmett Till (1955) Murdered Money, Mississippi 14 years old Chicago, Illinois Accused: Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan Not Guilty Exposed Racism in the South • Became a National Issue Murder Case Reopened (2004) • Glass Topped Casket Donated to the Smithsonian Museum The Montgomery Bus Boycott December 1, 1955 - December 20, 1956 Rosa Parks Montgomery Improvement Association Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boycott: 381 Days Result: Bus Integration Henry Ford Museum -$492,000 (2001) The Seat That Changed History Jesse Jackson and Rosa Parks • Jackson: “Why didn't you move to the back of the bus?“ • Parks: “I thought about Emmett Till and I couldn't go back." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A National Figure Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Based on non-violence and passive resistance The Little Rock Nine (1957) Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus Little Rock Nine Elizabeth Eckford 101st Airborne IKE said this “was his toughest decision as President” Little Rock Central High School Memorial Bench Little Rock Nine Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Civil Rights of 1957 Civil Rights of 1960 Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Sit-ins The Greensboro Four (1960) The Sit-ins Grew Greensboro, North Carolina Result: Integrated Lunch Counters International Civil Rights Center and Museum Opened February 1, 2010 The Fight for Civil Rights in the 50s .
    [Show full text]
  • Women in the Modern Civil Rights Movement
    Women in the Modern Civil Rights Movement Introduction Research Questions Who comes to mind when considering the Modern Civil Rights Movement (MCRM) during 1954 - 1965? Is it one of the big three personalities: Martin Luther to Consider King Jr., Malcolm X, or Rosa Parks? Or perhaps it is John Lewis, Stokely Who were some of the women Carmichael, James Baldwin, Thurgood Marshall, Ralph Abernathy, or Medgar leaders of the Modern Civil Evers. What about the names of Septima Poinsette Clark, Ella Baker, Diane Rights Movement in your local town, city or state? Nash, Daisy Bates, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ruby Bridges, or Claudette Colvin? What makes the two groups different? Why might the first group be more familiar than What were the expected gender the latter? A brief look at one of the most visible events during the MCRM, the roles in 1950s - 1960s America? March on Washington, can help shed light on this question. Did these roles vary in different racial and ethnic communities? How would these gender roles On August 28, 1963, over 250,000 men, women, and children of various classes, effect the MCRM? ethnicities, backgrounds, and religions beliefs journeyed to Washington D.C. to march for civil rights. The goals of the March included a push for a Who were the "Big Six" of the comprehensive civil rights bill, ending segregation in public schools, protecting MCRM? What were their voting rights, and protecting employment discrimination. The March produced individual views toward women one of the most iconic speeches of the MCRM, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a in the movement? Dream" speech, and helped paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and How were the ideas of gender the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
    [Show full text]
  • Crisis in Little Rock: Race, Class, Violence During the Desegregation of Central High School, 1957-1958
    101 102 Crisis in Little Rock: desegregation. Mob violence existed before, during, and after the Race, Class & Violence During the Desegregation of nine entered Central High. Threats on the students’ lives were Central High School, 1957-1958 common and, for the next eight months, the Little Rock Nine endured harassment from their peers as well as the Little Rock community. While most accounts of the crisis focus on the constitutional aspects of the case, they tend to avoid the key issues that help us better understand the factors that contributed to the crisis and the resulting violence. Con-siderations of race and class Richard J. Hanson are paramount to understanding the episode as it unfolded within the community of Little Rock. “When hate is unleashed and bigotry finds a voice, God help us The crisis had its roots in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court all.” ruling, Brown v. Board of Education. Ruling unanimously, the high court struck down segregation in public education. This The above quotation first appeared in the Arkansas Gazette on controversial ruling threatened to dismantle Jim Crow, and September 8th, 1957. It accompanied a picture that has since southern states were reluctant to comply. An exception, however, become internationally recognized as one of the most dramatic was Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas was not located in the Deep scenes of the Civil Rights Movement. It is a picture of a young South and therefore was regarded by many as moderate when it Negro girl by the name of Elizabeth Eckford and the moment came to race relations. Over time, however, Arkansas would also captured her as she walked to school on her first day of class.
    [Show full text]
  • Choices in LITTLE ROCK
    3434_LittleRock_cover_F 5/27/05 12:58 PM Page 1 Choices IN LITTLE ROCK A FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES TEACHING GUIDE ••••••••• CHOICES IN LITTLE ROCK i Acknowledgments Facing History and Ourselves would like to offer special thanks to The Yawkey Foundation for their support of Choices in Little Rock. Facing History and Ourselves would like to acknowledge the valuable assistance it received from the Boston Public Schools in creating Choices in Little Rock. We are particularly appreciative of the team that consulted on the development of the unit under the leadership of Sidney W. Smith, Director, Curriculum and Instructional Practices, and Judith Berkowitz, Ed.D., Project Director for Teaching American History. Patricia Artis, history coach Magda Donis, language acquisitions coach Meira Levinson, Ph.D., teacher, McCormack Middle School Kris Taylor, history coach Mark Taylor, teacher, King Middle School Facing History and Ourselves would also like to offer special thanks to the Boston Public School teachers who piloted the unit and provided valuable suggestions for its improvement. Constance Breeden, teacher, Irving Middle School Saundra Coaxum, teacher, Edison Middle School Gary Fisher, teacher, Timilty Middle School Adam Gibbons, teacher, Lyndon School Meghan Hendrickson, history coach, former teacher, Dearborn Middle School Wayne Martin, Edwards Middle School Peter Wolf, Curley Middle School Facing History and Ourselves values the efforts of its staff in producing and implementing the unit. We are grateful to Margot Strom, Marc Skvirsky, Jennifer Jones Clark, Fran Colletti, Phyllis Goldstein, Jimmie Jones, Melinda Jones-Rhoades, Tracy O’Brien, Jenifer Snow, Jocelyn Stanton, Chris Stokes, and Adam Strom. Design: Carter Halliday Associates www.carterhalliday.com Printed in the United States of America 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 November 2009 ISBN-13: 978-0-9798440-5-8 ISBN-10: 0-9798440-5-3 Copyright © 2008 Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Reflections on the Little Rock Desegregation Crisis
    Louisiana State University Law Center LSU Law Digital Commons Journal Articles Faculty Scholarship 1989 Confrontation as Rejoinder to Compromise: Reflections on the Little Rock Desegregation Crisis Raymond T. Diamond Louisiana State University Law Center, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Law Commons Repository Citation Diamond, Raymond T., "Confrontation as Rejoinder to Compromise: Reflections on the Little Rock Desegregation Crisis" (1989). Journal Articles. 290. https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/faculty_scholarship/290 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at LSU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal Articles by an authorized administrator of LSU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ARTICLES CONFRONTATION AS REJOINDER TO COMPROMISE: REFLECTIONS ON THE LITTLE ROCK DESEGREGATION CRISIS* Raymond T. Diamond** In September 1957, soldiers of the IOI st Airborne Division of the United Stat es Army were called to duty in hostile territory. These soldiers were called to Little Rock, Arkansas, to keep safe nine Black children who, under a court order of desegregation, attended Little Rock's Central High School. 1 The Little Rock crisis is writ large in the history of the desegregation of the American South. Because many of the events of the crisis were performed before the television camera at a time when television was new, the Little Rock crisis was etched graphically in the American consciousness. 2 The cam­ era showed in violent detail the willingness of the South to maintain segrega­ tion, and the willingness of the federal government to support federal law.
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Civil Rights
    Contents: Modern Civil Rights Limited progress, early court cases Thurgood Marshall Welcome! Briggs & Bolling cases Brown case/Earl Warren These mini-lectures are an overview of your Reactions to Brown assigned readings—they should provide Rosa Parks & Montgomery better understanding of what you are reading! Martin Luther King/SCLC Little Rock desegregation/reactions Just listen (if audio is provided, it plays Sit-ins/Freedom Rides automatically), then read the slide, and use James Meredith & universities the next arrowhead. If you are viewing this in March on Washington PDF, use the down arrow at the top of the pdf. Assassination/LBJ Great Society Conclusions. & A brief post test. Civil Rights... • Race laws based on 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson…separate but equal • Very few early challenges –W.E.B. DuBois created NAACP 1905 –Racial issues delayed in emergencies of world wars and depression ch29,Holland 2 Limited Progress, 1930s... • FDR & Eleanor Roosevelt gave limited support to Civil Rights • Margold Report (NAACP), 1933 –suggested tactics to challenge Plessy • Legal Defense Fund (LDF) started in 1939 ch29,Holland 3 First Challenges... • NAACP planned to challenge the separation of public education… • Thurgood Marshall and others collected facts for a court case... • President Truman’s Civil Rights Commission supported action ch29,Holland 4 Thurgood Marshall and NAACP lawyers gather evidence. Lead counsel, Thurgood Marshall whom LBJ would later make a Supreme Court Justice Law School Case... • 1946--Univ. Texas Law School denied admission to blacks • NAACP sued & Texas opened a small black law school; • Texas won the law suit since separate schools were legally provided ch29,Holland 7 Shall We Target Public Schools...? • By the 1950s four approaches to separating the races in schools… –Northern states required integration –Southern states required segregation –Border states like Kansas allowed county option –Western states had no law either way ch29,Holland 8 1949 Briggs v.
    [Show full text]
  • Daisy Bates First Lady of Little Rock
    DISCUSSION GUIDE DAISY BATES FIrsT LADY OF LITTLE ROCK As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society. Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students who registered to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, which culminated in a constitutional crisis—pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself. Unconventional, revolutionary, and egotistical, Daisy Bates reaped the rewards of instant fame, but paid dearly for it. national center for MEDIA ENGAGEMENT PBS.ORG/indePendenTLens/DAisY-BATes DAISY BATES FROM THE FILMMAKER: Dear Viewer, Fifteen years ago I stumbled upon the story of a woman who had lost I hope that when audiences watch the film they will be inspired to her parents to violence, but rather than give in to a burning hatred become leaders in their own communities, educate themselves on inside of her, she became the leader of a movement to desegregate women from the civil rights movement (Daisy Bates is only one of the white schools in Arkansas in 1957. I had studied history all my life hundreds of unsung heroines from that time period), and use the film and considered myself quite knowledgeable, but nowhere in my his- as an inspirational tool to discuss education in American schools tory books did the name Daisy Bates appear. I felt compelled to find today. For young adults, I want the film to be a reminder that where out who this woman was and share her story in the hopes of resur- your life begins doesn’t have to be where it ends, and I want those recting her memory in the American consciousness.
    [Show full text]