. Nevertheless, the other eight students never blinked and eye or started anything, they only turned the other cheek in a very brave, almost warrior-like way. The other eight students finished school that year and one of them even graduated. Ernest Green became the first colored student to ever graduate from Central High School. The black students could never have dreamed of a happier day. They had successfully completed the unthinkable. Even though all of the cards were stacked up against them, the managed to fight through all of the hate and emerge and winners in a battle against racism. This was a huge victory for the entire African-American society. But the war was not over. The governor signed a bill that allowed him to shut down all four of Little Rock's public schools. The families of the Little Rock Nine (now eight) students fell under enormous pressure from all sides. Some of them lost their jobs, some moved, and other gave up. Melba and four other students took correspondence courses from Arkansas State University while waiting for the high schools to open. The case was already in the Supreme Court and Beals knew it was only a matter of time. She patiently waited until the 1959 ruling was announced that declared Governor Faubus's bill unconstitutional, forcing him to reopen the doors. Melba Beals did not, however, go back to Central High School. During the period when the schools were closed down, the death threats and violent acts toward Melba's family escalated. Fearing her life, Melba moved to California to live in a safer environment where she could continue working Toward her educational dreams.The members of the Little Rock Nine, along with help from their family members, community, churches, and national organizations proved that although some people will go to great lengths in order to prevent desegregation, with hard work and determination, and a little bit of luck, things can and will get better. T...
