Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrance Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls, affectionately known as the Little Rock Nine, were assigned to the previously all-white Central High School. Melba Patillo Beals, says 41 years later, “I La Point 7think it made me a stronger person, really; it made me realize people are all the same, that you should judge people by what’s in their hearts, not by the color of their skin” (Beals 196).Governor Orville Faubus posted the National Guard at the entrance of the school to prevent the Little Rock Nine from entering the school on September 2, 1957. On September 23, an uncontrollable riot had broken out and President Eisenhower was forced to respond. He called in the 101st Airborne to restore order and to protect the Black students. For the entire school year, the federal troops escorted the students to class. In 1958, Governor Faubus shut down the entire public school system rather than comply with the court’s orders. Another lawsuit was filed and the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Arkansas must reopen its schools and become integrated (Harris 54-56). It was one thing to demand an end to segregation, but it was another thing to achieve it. Initially, school districts that were ordered to eliminate the dual school systems were allowed to submit their own desegregation plans to the District Court. There were numerous proposals, including freedom-of-choice options, majority-to-minority transfers, the creation of magnet schools, and busing. The basis of the freedom-of-choice plans was that students could voluntarily integrate. This was also known as enrollment plans, theoretically allowing black students to attend white schools on the other side of town. Minority-to-majority is similar to freedom-of-choice. Students who were part of the majority race. These two plans suffered from a lack of participation. The magnet schools on...
