LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT

Little Rock School District

Little Rock School District

History and Overview

Little Rock is a Southern United States city, and is the state capital of Arkansas. The city had 652.8 thousand inhabitants according to the 2006 estimates. The district is popular for being the largest Arkansas public school district. The city was an early battleground of the civil rights movement. The backdrop to the conflict was the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954 that had declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Whites throughout the Deep South repudiated and resisted the decision (Smith & Speed 1999). The situation in Arkansas, however, registered shades of complexity. Whites in western areas of the state, which contained relatively few African Americans, tended to accept the ruling and proceeded to integrate their schools. But in eastern districts of the state, which had a greater political influence in state politics, resistance to the desegregation order was stubborn. Little Rock, the capital located in central Arkansas, emerged as the focal point of this contentiousness in the fall of 1957 when nine African-American students enrolled in Central High School, an all-white institution. Governor Orval Faubus moved to block its integration, deploying the National Guard on September 4 to prevent the nine students from entering the school. In defying the Supreme Court and the federal government, Faubus precipitated a seminal crisis between state and nation over the issue of racial justice (Roberts 2009).

Governor Faubus had a progressive record on race relations. Elected in 1954, he had approved the racial integration of public transportation and the state colleges. In 1956, however, political winds shifted when Faubus faced James Johnson in the gubernatorial primary. Johnson, a fervent segregationist, ran on a platform resisting all forms of integration and nearly won. Faubus managed to gain reelection but only after pledging to use his office to stymie unpopular such federal policies as school desegregation. This tactic, known as "interposition," would emerge in September 1957 when Faubus defied the Supreme Court.

Central High School began its academic year on September 3, 1957. Faubus faced a difficult choice: Heed the ruling of the nation's highest court or appease a vocal and powerful bloc of segregationists in his state. He tried desperately to avert a decision, arguing on August 29 that integration would incite violence. A local chancery court judge agreed and issued an injunction to delay integration. But Ronald N. Davies, the federal judge for the area, would not be cowed by segregationist pressure. One day after the injunction, on August 30, Davies overruled the local court, opening the way for the integration of Central High (Sligh 2005).

On Monday, September 2, the day before classes began, Faubus reached his fateful decision. Arguing that integration was "against the overwhelming sentiment of the people," the governor planned to block the move. He commanded the National Guard to surround Central High in order to prevent "widespread disorder and violence." Faubus insisted that the threat of violence forced his hand. Fearing for their children's safety, the parents of the nine African-American students decided to keep their children home ...