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During September, 1957, a new age dawned in civil rights when Little Rock Central High School became the first white school in the South to admit black students. Although it shocked some of us at the time, in retrospect, it’s no surprise that this action soon turned into a crisis that garnered worldwide attention.
The book, Looking Back, Boomers Remember History from the ‘40s to the Present, Chapter Four, The ‘50s: From Rockets to Rock and Roll, extensively covers the crisis. Three former students, including myself, who were present and witnessed history being made, write about our experiences as students at LRCHS. Brief excerpts from the book follow:
Reflections on the Integration Crisis at Little Rock, by Carolyn Glover Hirby, class of 1960
“Shortly after that first day, we were all in for a shock—the landing of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division, armed with bayonets, under the command of the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Central High campus looked like a prison with armed guards every few feet.”
“No one was prepared for all that continued to unfold as our school and city became the focus of the nation and world for months to come.”
“The nation was continuously exposed to video clips of angry students, motivated by angry mobs, with very little coverage of those of us who calmly walked up those stairs and into the building five days a week, with no agenda other than school as usual.” --Carolyn Glover Hirby
Silence Was Our Only Defense by Ralph Brodie, class of 1958, student body president
“Most students were silent 50 years ago because silence was our only defense against being misquoted and harassed by an overzealous media and the ever present fear of personal retaliation from the racists and political demagogues of that time. This silence continued for most of the last 50 years, because when we tried to tell our story, we were not believed—after all we were white and southern and assumed to be racists by the media.” --Ralph Brodie
My Story by Kay Kennedy, class of 1958
I suspect that few among us approved the actions of those who caused trouble. Yet we managed to be painted with the same broad strokes of racism as the troublemakers—a picture that was abhorrent to me and I’m sure, many others.
Most of us were frightened—if not for our lives—then for the lack of control we had over the situation. We attended school under difficult, trying conditions, so it is little wonder that some feel our sacrifices were ignored during that tumultuous year.” --(Varina) Kay Kennedy, class of 1958
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