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Little Rock Nine Overview

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Little Rock Nine Overview

Read the sources and timeline carefully. Use evidence from this sheet to explain the events, perspectives and significance of the Little Rock Nine. The sources are short classroom extracts written for this activity; they are not quotations from named historical documents.

Context: Little Rock, 1957

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. In Little Rock, Arkansas, the school board planned to gradually integrate Central High School. Nine Black students—Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed and Melba Pattillo—became known as the Little Rock Nine. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered the state National Guard to prevent the students from entering Central High on 4 September 1957, claiming he was maintaining order. Elizabeth Eckford, who had not received the message about a change in the group’s plans, faced an angry crowd alone. On 23 September, the nine entered the school with help from local police, but a hostile crowd outside made it unsafe to stay. President Dwight D. Eisenhower then federalised the Arkansas National Guard and sent US Army troops from the 101st Airborne Division to protect the students. The Nine attended Central High under federal protection. Ernest Green graduated in May 1958. The conflict raised a central question: would state officials obey federal law and court rulings? It also showed that ending legal segregation did not, by itself, guarantee equal access to education or personal safety.

Timeline

Use the timeline as a reference for the questions below.

1896: Plessy v. Ferguson upholds racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.

17 May 1954: Brown v. Board of Education rules that segregated public schools are unconstitutional.

4 September 1957: Arkansas National Guard blocks the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High.

23 September 1957: The Nine enter the school briefly; a hostile crowd forces their early departure.

25 September 1957: US Army troops escort the Nine into Central High under federal protection.

May 1958: Ernest Green becomes the first Black student to graduate from Central High.

1.Which event came immediately before US Army troops escorted the Nine into Central High?

The Brown v. Board of Education ruling
The Nine briefly entered the school on 23 September
Ernest Green graduated
The Plessy v. Ferguson decision

2.True or false: The Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education immediately ensured that the Little Rock Nine could attend Central High without obstruction. Correct the statement if it is false.

TrueFalse

Interpreting perspectives

Read both classroom source extracts. Analyse them as evidence of contrasting viewpoints; do not treat either as a neutral account of the whole event.

Source A — Support for desegregation: “A court ruling has recognised that separate schools are unequal. The law must be followed, and every student should be able to attend a public school without discrimination.”

Source B — Opposition to federal intervention: “Arkansas should decide how its schools are run. Sending federal troops into the state is an unacceptable interference with local authority.”

3.Which source is most likely to support the Little Rock Nine’s right to attend Central High? Identify one phrase that supports your choice.

4.What does Source B suggest about its author’s view of the balance between state and federal power? Give one limitation of using this extract to understand the Little Rock crisis.

5.Imagine a photograph showing Elizabeth Eckford walking towards Central High while a crowd reacts around her. Name one kind of evidence a photograph with this description could provide and one important thing it cannot establish by itself.

6.Put these events in chronological order by writing 1–4 beside them: ___ Brown v. Board of Education; ___ federal troops escort the Nine into Central High; ___ the Arkansas National Guard blocks entry; ___ Ernest Green graduates.

7.Explain why President Eisenhower’s decision to use federal forces mattered in the conflict between Arkansas state authorities and the federal government.

8.Historical judgement: How significant was the Little Rock Nine’s experience in the wider struggle against racial segregation? Write a short paragraph using at least two precise details from this sheet. Explain both what changed and what remained difficult.