Desegregation and the Little Rock Crisis
Desegregation means ending racial separation, which was common in the U.S. until the 1950s, especially in the South. This separation was supported by the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson but was ruled unconstitutional by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Despite this, many Southern schools resisted. In Little Rock, Arkansas, nine Black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, tried to attend Central High School but were blocked by the National Guard, ordered by Governor Faubus. President Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect them from angry mobs and violence. The Little Rock Crisis was a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement, showing the need for strong federal action against segregation.
By examining the Valdosta State University Archive's Civil Rights Papers, we can explore how the federal intervention in the Little Rock Crisis influenced school desegregation, the legality of Eisenhower's troop deployment, and the level of public support for his actions.
Background- Brown Vs. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas: The Sibley Report Page 6
This section of The Sibley Report, a Georgia Assembly Education Report, states that any public school that is funded by state tax money must desegregate. It also quotes that they believe this to mean that they can keep separate schools for each race, but they cannot block someone from entering the school. While they understand what the decision means, they also fail to integrate their schools. This sentiment was shared by many of the Southern school systems to delay complete integration.
Background: The Little Rock Nine: The Crisis Volume 67 No 6 Page 375
The Crisis is an NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, publication and they were celebrating the achievements of the last few of the Little Rock Nine. These children were the first Black students to integrate into all-white schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. This article does say that this celebration was given because these students could not attend their school's graduation functions. The article discusses the difficulties involved with the Little Rock area public schools' failure to integrate.
This guide was created by VSU Graduate Students in Summer 2024 as a part of the HIST 6215/MLIS 7998: Public History Virtual Exhibit Project.
For more information about online exhibits or the collections contained in the VSU Archives, contact Archives and Special Collections
