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. Faubus. Later they were admitted under the protection of federal troops dispatched to Little Rock by President Eisenhower to prevent interference with the court order. Suit Filed by NAACP The ruling to admit them to Central High School was the result of a suit filed on their behalf and at the request of their parents by NAACP laivyers. The Press Releases—June 5 '2 gradual plan of desegregation proposed by the Little Rock Board of Education in 1955 was approved by the United States District Court to become effective with the opening of school in September, 1957. Ernest GreerK Graduated On May 27, Ernest Greeny became the first Negro to be graduated from Central High. He was a member of the senior class of 600 boys and girls. Earlier, Minnijean Brown, after repeated harassment by a band of white students, was expelled. She entered the New Lincoln School, a private integrated institution in New York City. Carlotta Wall made the honor roll in her class. All eight of the colored students who remained in Central High passed. Others in the pioneer group include Elizabeth Eckford, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberto and Jefferson Thomas. Medal Instituted in 1914 The Spingarn Medal was instituted in 1914 by the late J.E. Spingarn, then chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. It is a gold medal on an appropriate colored band. This year individual medals will be presented to each of the winners. Mr. Spingarn died in 1939. The medal has been continued under terms of his will which set up a trust fund "to perpetuate the lifelong interest of rny brother, Arthur B. Spingarn, of my wife, Amy E. Spingarn, and of myself in the achievements of the American Negro.” In 1939, Arthur B. Spingarn succeeded his brother as president of the Association, a position which he has since held continuously. Last year, the medal was awarded to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for "his outstanding leadership role in the successful Montgomery bus protest movement." Other previous Spingarn Medalists include Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, Miss Marian Anderson, Jackie Robinson, Dr. Channing H. Tobias, Judge William H. Hastie, Thurgood Marshall, Paul Williams, Carl Murphy and A. Philip Randolph..