Behind the Bronze: the Arkansas students who required the 101st Airborne’s protection

Nine Students Face Federal Troops at Little Rock

In 1957, nine Black teens walked into a storm of hate at Little Rock Central High.

Three years after the Supreme Court ruled school segregation illegal, Arkansas Governor Faubus sent National Guard troops to block them. Angry mobs spat at Elizabeth Eckford as she tried to enter alone.

President Eisenhower soon took charge, sending 1,000 Army paratroopers to escort the students inside. For a full school year, they faced daily threats while soldiers stood guard.

The "Testament" monument now stands at the Arkansas State Capitol, where bronze figures tell their brave story.

Supreme Court Tackles School Segregation in 1954

The Brown v. Board of Education ruling on May 17, 1954, ended the "separate but equal" rule.

Arkansas was one of only two Southern states that quickly agreed to follow the new law. The Little Rock School Board promised on May 22, 1954, to comply once they got clear instructions.

Arkansas had already mixed students at its law school in 1949, plus seven state universities, buses, libraries, and parks.

School Board Makes a Step-by-Step Plan

Superintendent Virgil Blossom created a slow plan to mix schools and showed it to the Little Rock School Board on May 24, 1955.

The board voted yes on the "Blossom Plan," which set high school mixing to start in September 1957. The plan first aimed to start with younger kids but changed to begin with teens.

The NAACP didn’t like how slow the plan moved and went to court, but the judge sided with the board.

Daisy Bates Chooses Nine Brave Students

Arkansas NAACP leader Daisy Bates picked students with top grades and perfect attendance to be the first Black kids at Central High. From 517 Black students, 80 showed interest.

The list dropped to 17, then to nine after eight kids stayed at all-Black Horace Mann High.

The Little Rock Nine couldn’t join sports teams or choir, and many of their parents got threats about losing their jobs.

White Parents Form Groups to Stop Integration

Two groups formed to fight school mixing: the Capital Citizens Council and the Mother’s League of Central High School.

The Mother’s League got a short-term court order on August 27, 1957, claiming Black students might cause violence.

Federal Judge Ronald Davies canceled that order on August 30 and told the school to go ahead with integration. The Mother’s League held a prayer service at the school on September 3 to show their opposition.

Faubus Blocks School with Armed Guards

Governor Orval Faubus sent the Arkansas National Guard to Central High School on September 2, 1957. He claimed he did this to stop violence and keep the nine students safe from danger.

About 270 National Guard troops stood around the school with orders to keep Black students out. School officials told the nine students not to come to class on the first day, September 3.

A Teenage Girl Walks Alone Through an Angry Crowd

On September 4, 1957, eight students came together in Daisy Bates’ car, but Elizabeth Eckford missed the message about the carpool.

She showed up alone at Central High and faced an angry white mob of over 1,000 people shouting racial slurs. National Guard troops blocked her from entering while people spit on her and threw things.

Eckford walked to a bus stop through the hostile crowd. A photographer caught her calm dignity in a picture that became famous worldwide.

Judge Orders Governor to Stop Interfering

Federal Judge Ronald Davies told Governor Faubus to stop blocking integration on September 20, 1957. President Eisenhower had met with Faubus in Rhode Island on September 14, but they couldn’t agree.

Faubus pulled the National Guard away from Central High on September 20 and left town for a meeting with other Southern governors. With state troops gone, keeping order became the job of the Little Rock police.

Police Can’t Control the Mob Outside School

The Little Rock Nine walked into Central High through a side door with police escorts on September 23, 1957. They sat through classes for about three hours before an angry crowd of 1,000 gathered outside.

The mob tried to rush into the building, and violence broke out as police struggled to keep control. School officials rushed the nine students out for their safety.

Eisenhower Sends in the Army

Little Rock Mayor Woodrow Mann sent an urgent telegram to President Eisenhower asking for federal help on September 23. Eisenhower signed orders on September 23-24, taking control of the Arkansas National Guard.

He sent 1,000 paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles" to Little Rock. The President went on TV to tell the nation that "mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of the courts.

Soldiers Escort Students Through the Front Door

On September 25, 1957, at 9:22 a. m.

, the Little Rock Nine walked through the front doors of Central High with more than 20 soldiers from the 101st Airborne at their side.

Army helicopters flew circles overhead while 350 more federal troops secured the school grounds and nearby streets.

This marked the first time since Reconstruction that federal troops stepped in to enforce school mixing in the South.

Students Face Daily Attacks for an Entire School Year

Federal troops stayed until May 1958, but the nine students still faced constant physical and verbal attacks from white classmates.

Melba Pattillo had acid thrown in her eyes, Gloria Ray got pushed down stairs, and all nine couldn’t join any school clubs or teams.

The school kicked out Minnijean Brown in February 1958 after she fought back against harassment. Ernest Green became the first Black student to graduate from Central High in May 1958, with Martin Luther King Jr.

watching from the audience.

Visiting Arkansas State Capitol, Arkansas

The Arkansas State Capitol at 500 Woodlane Street in Little Rock offers free access to learn about the Little Rock Nine Crisis.

You can see the Testament monument just north of the capitol building, which faces the governor’s office where Orval Faubus made his defiant decisions.

Take a free guided tour weekdays from 9am-3pm by calling 501-682-5080, or grab self-guided booklets at the visitor center. Arrive 15 minutes early for security screening.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Corrupt Mayor Who Made Al Capone Feel Welcome in Arkansas
• The tiny tugboat that saved Pearl Harbor’s biggest ships during Japan’s surprise attack
• The delegate who refused to betray his constituents for a Confederate Arkansas