In a televised address, Faubus insisted that violence and bloodshed might break out if Black students were allowed to enter the school. On September 2, 1957, Governor Orval Faubus announced that he would call in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the African American students’ entry to Central High, claiming this action was for the students’ own protection. The group soon became famous as the Little Rock Nine. In the weeks prior to the start of the new school year, the students participated in intensive counseling sessions guiding them on what to expect once classes began and how to respond to anticipated hostile situations. Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls had been recruited by Daisy Gaston Bates, president of the Arkansas NAACP and co-publisher of the Arkansas State Press, an influential African American newspaper.ĭaisy Bates and others from the Arkansas NAACP carefully vetted the group of students and determined they all possessed the strength and determination to face the resistance they would encounter. Who Were the Little Rock Nine?ĭespite the virulent opposition, nine students registered to be the first African Americans to attend Central High School.

Two pro-segregation groups formed to oppose the plan: The Capital Citizens Council and the Mother’s League of Central High School. Among these was Little Rock Central High School, which opened in 1927 and was originally called Little Rock Senior High School. The first institutions to integrate would be the high schools, beginning in September 1957.

In response to the Brown decisions and pressure from the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP), the Little Rock, Arkansas, school board adopted a plan for gradual integration of its schools.

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