Minnijean Brown, Terrance Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls, otherwise known as the “Little Rock Nine,” were the first African- American students to integrate into Central Rock High in 1957.

  The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Brown vs. Board of Education ended the segregation of schools in 1954- starting the process of integration. The student’s enrollment triggered the “Little Rock crisis,” as they were prevented from entering the school by Arkansas governor Orval Faubus.

  However, after President Eisenhower intervened, the students were allowed to attend Central Rock High. The students still faced horrific verbal and physical abuse and discrimination from classmates and adults.

   This was a pivotal event in the civil rights movement. The events in Little Rock symbolized the changing laws and the progression of race relations in the U.S.

“The humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self-esteem each day.”
–Melba Patillo