The Little Rock Desegregation Crisis

Examines the key figures and events surrounding the Little Rock, Arkansas, desegregation crisis in 1957, considered to be one of the most controversial battles of the civil rights movement.

In fall of 1957, nine black students approached the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The students, who became known as the Little Rock Nine, were testing a 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation illegal. Their actions led to a standoff, with the state National Guard ordered to bar the students' entry. Weeks later, federal troops sent by President Eisenhower arrived to escort them inside. Readers will find themselves experiencing the desegregation crisis and a time of clashing attitudes that would affect all Little Rock's students, black and white, and the rest of the country's as well.

50th Anniversary Edition of a bestselling book that tells the story behind the photographs that shocked our nation

A political history of the most famous desegregation crisis in America The desegregation crisis in Little Rock is a landmark of American history: on September 4, 1957, after the Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called up the National Guard to surround Little Rock Central High School, preventing black students from going in. On September 25, 1957, nine black students, escorted by federal troops, gained entrance. With grace and depth, Little Rock provides fresh perspectives on the individuals, especially the activists and policymakers, involved in these dramatic events. Looking at a wide variety of evidence and sources, Karen Anderson examines American racial politics in relation to changes in youth culture, sexuality, gender relations, and economics, and she locates the conflicts of Little Rock within the larger political and historical context. Anderson considers how white groups at the time, including middle class women and the working class, shaped American race and class relations. She documents white women's political mobilizations and, exploring political resentments, sexual fears, and religious affiliations, illuminates the reasons behind segregationists' missteps and blunders. Anderson explains how the business elite in Little Rock retained power in the face of opposition, and identifies the moral failures of business leaders and moderates who sought the appearance of federal compliance rather than actual racial justice, leaving behind a legacy of white flight, poor urban schools, and institutional racism. Probing the conflicts of school desegregation in the mid-century South, Little Rock casts new light on connections between social inequality and the culture wars of modern America. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

The Little Rock Crisis frames the story of the Little Rock 1957 desegregation crisis through the lens of memory. Over time, those memories – individual and collective – have motivated Little Rockians for social and political action and engagement.

The documents collected in this title help readers understand how the local, Southern conflict of the desegregated Little Rock Central High School became a national and international cause.

A historical account of the efforts of nine African-American students to integrate Central High School draws on interviews to offer insight into the behind-the-scenes experiences of the students and members of their community.

This must-have volume explores the events surrounding the Little Rock Nine crisis. Collected essays provide the historical background, from sources such as the National Park Service and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Controversies are then explored, including whether President Eisenhower acted wisely in sending federal troops to Little Rock. After controversies are explained, reader are then presented with compelling first-hand accounts of the experience, by people who lived through it. Readers hear from notables such as Minnijean Brown Trickey, Thelma Mothershed Wair, and Elizabeth Eckford.