National History Day (NHD 2013-2014) Project by Aurora Ellen Hoxsey and Jasmin Deyanira Macias
Thesis Statement: The event of Little Rock Nine in Arkansas started in 1957 with nine African American students attending for the first time, an all white school. These students fought for rights to have an equal education opportunity, for other African American students being allowed to be segregated with white students, and this event gave reminder to authority figures to keep people they have power over of, safe in the educational system and any public area.
Quotes:
"[The day the 101st Battalion arrived,] the streets were blocked off. The soldiers closed ranks. Neighbors came out and looked. The street was full up and down. Oh, it was beautiful. And the attitude of the children at that moment, the respect they had. I could hear them saying, 'For the first time in my life I truly feel like an American.' I could see it in their faces; somebody cares for me, America cares." --Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP (Daisy Bates stands to the left of her husband, L.C. Bates in the photo below)
"The governor has called out the National Guard to put down trouble where none existed. He did so without a request from those of us who are directly responsible for preservation of peace and order. The only effect of his action is to create tension where none existed. I call the Governor's attention to the fact that after almost a week of sensational developments brought about by his own actions, the Little Rock police have not had a single case of interracial violence reported to them." --Little Rock Mayor Woodrow W. Mann, September 3, 1957
"Somewhere along the line, [staying at Central High] became an obligation. I realized that what we were doing was not for ourselves" --Elizabeth Eckford, one of the "Little Rock Nine"
"Minnie was about five foot ten and this fellow couldn't have been more than five-five, five-four. And he reminded me of a small dog, yelping at somebody's leg. Minnie had just picked up her chili, and before I could even say, 'Minnie, why don't you tell him to shut up?' Minnie had taken this chili and dumped it on this dude's head. There was absolute silence in the place, and then the help, all black, broke into applause. And the white kids, the other white kids there didn't know what to do. It was the first time that anybody, I'm sure, had seen somebody black retaliate in that sense." --Ernest Green recalled an incident in the school cafeteria in December
"I just can't take everything they throw at me without fighting back. I don't think people realize what goes on at Central. You just wouldn't believe it. They throw rocks, they spill ink on your clothes, they call you 'nigger,' they just keep bothering you every five minutes. The white students hate me. Why do they hate me so much?" --Minnijean said of the incident where a white student poured a bowl of hot soup on her
"My first day inside Central High was very smooth, smoother than I expected. Outside was the main cause. If it wasn't for the people outside, we would have finished the day. But I don't intend to quit. We'll try again. It's still my school, and I'm entitled to it." --Ernest Green, September 24, 1959, in a New York Post article
"We integrating students shared many things in common. All of our parents were strict, no-nonsense types. Several of them were teachers and preachers, or held well-established positions in other professions. All our folks were hardworking people who had struggled to own their homes, to provide a stable life for their families. We share many of the same family values traditional to all small-town Americans." --Melba Patillo
"I try not to let Carlotta know how much I worry. I can't say that I'm not proud of her. Sometimes she gets impatient with me when she's talking about what's happening at Central. And I'd say,'Now, Carlotta, it can't be that bad.' Little does she realize that every time I see a bruise on her leg where some bully has kicked her with steel tips on his shoes, I'm just about ready to commit murder. I keep thinking each day, maybe tomorrow it won't be her leg; it will be her eye." --Juanita Walls, Carlotta Wall's mother
"More than any other single event in many years, Little Rock demonstrated the gaping discrepancy between the Declaration of Independence, one of the most precious documents of American history, and the reality of twentieth century America. . . . The impact on Americans and on the world was one of Little Rock's historical contributions to the over-all crusade for rights and dignity. A second contribution that Little Rock made--a contribution by no means less significant or less dramatic--was its effect upon the Negro population in the United States and particularly upon those in the South. . . . They learned unmistakably that they possess irresistible power if they become conscious of it and unite to secure their unalienable rights." --Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP
"Minnie was about five foot ten and this fellow couldn't have been more than five-five, five-four. And he reminded me of a small dog, yelping at somebody's leg. Minnie had just picked up her chili, and before I could even say, 'Minnie, why don't you tell him to shut up?' Minnie had taken this chili and dumped it on this dude's head. There was absolute silence in the place, and then the help, all black, broke into applause. And the white kids, the other white kids there didn't know what to do. It was the first time that anybody, I'm sure, had seen somebody black retaliate in that sense." --Ernest Green recalled an incident in the school cafeteria in December
"I just can't take everything they throw at me without fighting back. I don't think people realize what goes on at Central. You just wouldn't believe it. They throw rocks, they spill ink on your clothes, they call you 'nigger,' they just keep bothering you every five minutes. The white students hate me. Why do they hate me so much?" --Minnijean said of the incident where a white student poured a bowl of hot soup on her
"My first day inside Central High was very smooth, smoother than I expected. Outside was the main cause. If it wasn't for the people outside, we would have finished the day. But I don't intend to quit. We'll try again. It's still my school, and I'm entitled to it." --Ernest Green, September 24, 1959, in a New York Post article
"We integrating students shared many things in common. All of our parents were strict, no-nonsense types. Several of them were teachers and preachers, or held well-established positions in other professions. All our folks were hardworking people who had struggled to own their homes, to provide a stable life for their families. We share many of the same family values traditional to all small-town Americans." --Melba Patillo
"I try not to let Carlotta know how much I worry. I can't say that I'm not proud of her. Sometimes she gets impatient with me when she's talking about what's happening at Central. And I'd say,'Now, Carlotta, it can't be that bad.' Little does she realize that every time I see a bruise on her leg where some bully has kicked her with steel tips on his shoes, I'm just about ready to commit murder. I keep thinking each day, maybe tomorrow it won't be her leg; it will be her eye." --Juanita Walls, Carlotta Wall's mother
"More than any other single event in many years, Little Rock demonstrated the gaping discrepancy between the Declaration of Independence, one of the most precious documents of American history, and the reality of twentieth century America. . . . The impact on Americans and on the world was one of Little Rock's historical contributions to the over-all crusade for rights and dignity. A second contribution that Little Rock made--a contribution by no means less significant or less dramatic--was its effect upon the Negro population in the United States and particularly upon those in the South. . . . They learned unmistakably that they possess irresistible power if they become conscious of it and unite to secure their unalienable rights." --Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP