For Juneteenth, a tribute to Elizabeth Eckford and the Arkansas Nine — entering an all-white school

The loneliness of Elizabeth Eckford

Elizabeth Eckford demonstrated courage in 1957 when she walked through a group of outraged parents and students in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a lonely trek for the young 15-year-old who was one of nine African-American high school students who were entering the all-whie Central High School in September.

What made Elizabeth’s walk different from her other black classmates was that she did not go together with them because she had no phone and did not realize that they were carpooling to the school.

The photo above that shows Elizabeth illustrates how angry the people were. The governor of the state, Orval Faubus, had ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school.

However, when Faubus refused to allow them to enter, President Dwight D. Eisenhower order federal troops to the school to escort the young people into the school.

Segregation

This was called “segregation,” and it was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Most southern school refused to abide by the decision, and Arkansas was one of those states that did so.

In fact, Faubus was so outraged that in 1958, he closed every school in the state for the entire school year. It was his way of fighting for segregation.

High school students in the 21st Century are often shocked when they learn that black students had to have federal forces escort them into an all-white school.

However, those students like Eckford had to put up with abuse from the other students. They were not permitted to participate in extra-curricular activities. Their parents were fired from their jobs, but these students endured the attacks are eventually graduated from Central High.

Eckford eventually earned a college degree in history from Central State University in Ohio. She joined the U.S. Army and later served as a teacher and then a probably officer.

Thanks for the Little Rock Nine for their courage and tenacity.