Civil Conversations: Day 8, Closing with the lost truth of Little Rock Nine
People and students of Eau Claire gathered at Little Rock Central High School to step in the shoes of the nine Black students enrolled in 1957.
More stories from McKenna Dirks (She/Her)
In 1957, Little Rock Central High School was the epicenter of confrontation and for change as the fundamental test for the United States to enforce civil rights following Brown v. Board of Education.
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students and people of the community gathered at the National Historic Site for Little Rock Central High School to learn the true history behind it.
National Park Ranger and tour guide, Rebecca Hoffman, began her tour with the start of slavery in 1619 and worked up to the history of Little Rock Central High School.
As Hoffman led students and community members around the property of the school, she brought us through the experiences and struggles of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine Black students who enrolled at an all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957.
The attendance of these nine students was a test of Brown v. Board of Education, a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional.
In 1957, Little Rock Central High School was the epicenter of confrontation and for change as the fundamental test for the United States to enforce civil rights following Brown v. Board of Education.
Hoffman went on to explain the experiences of these nine students in gruesome detail, describing the protest crowds and vulgar language yelled by segregationists at these students as they tried to attend school.
Hoffman provided examples of misrepresentation in the AP U.S. History textbook used at Little Rock Central High School today, including three total sentences to summarize the Little Rock Nine:
“On September 4, 1957 nine African American students arrived at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They made their way through a crowd shouting obscenities and even throwing objects. Once the students reached the front door the National Guard prevented them from entering the school and they were forced to go home.”
Hoffman said the nine students did in fact make it into Little Rock Central High School, but were forced home after an hour and a half of segregationists lining the school’s yard. She said some proposed giving one of the students for the segregationists to lynch since they couldn’t get to all nine students.
Although the U.S. has come a long way since 1619, Hoffman said there’s still a lot of work to do to achieve equal human rights for U.S. citizens.
Dirks can be reached at [email protected]
