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Introduction Video
Video introducing Daisy Bates https://www.pbs.org/video/independent-lens-a-civil-rights-hero-who-put-her-life-on-the-line/ -
Birth
Daisy Gatson was born in 1914 in Huttig, Arkansas. Her father left and her mother was murdered by three white men. This meant she was confronted with racism and hatred from a very young age. She was raised by family friends; Susie and Orlee Smith. -
Childhood
Gatson attended the segregated schools in Huttig, Arkansas.
It is unknown how much formal education she received, and it is unlikely she attended school past 9th grade. -
Met husband
Bates met her future husband, Lucius Christopher Bates when she was 15. He was a traveling salesman in Memphis TN. She moved to Memphis in 1932. -
The Arkansas State Press
Daisy and L.C. started a weekly newspaper called The Arkansas State Press. The Arkansas State Press was in business from 1941 to 1959. It was one of a few African American newspapers entirely dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement. Daisy Bates was an editor and contributor. The paper was distributed across the state of Arkansas. -
Marriage
Daisy and L.C. Bates moved to Little Rock in 1941. They got married on March 4, 1942, in Fordyce Arkansas. They never had children. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that segregating schools was unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Bates helped African American students enroll at white schools. She used her newspaper to expose the schools who didn’t follow the federal mandate and tried to prevent African American students from attending. -
Aaron v. Cooper
Even after segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional, there was a lot of resistance to integration. The federal court case Aaron v. Cooper set the stage for the integration of Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas in 1957. -
The Little Rock Nine
Daisy Bates organized the Little Rock Nine: nine students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in 1957. She helped the students get to school and helped protect them from violent crowds.
She joined the school’s parent organization. Threats such as rocks thrown in her house and bullet shells in the mail forced her and her husband to shut down their newspaper. She got national recognition for her work with school integration. -
NAACP and SCLC
In 1957, Bates was elected to the executive committee of MLK’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). She was encouraged by MLK, who said she was “a woman whom everyone knows has been, and still is in the thick of battle from the very beginning, never faltering, never tiring.” She was also the president of the state of Arkansas National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) conference and on the national NAACP board from 1957-1970. -
Published The Long Shadow of Little Rock
In 1962 Bates published her memoir The Long Shadow of Little Rock. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote the forward of Bates’ book The Long Shadow of Little Rock. She said “I have paid her homage in my thoughts many times and I want to tell her again how remarkable I think she was through these horrible years.” The book eventually won an American Book Award. -
The March on Washington
Daisy Bates sat on stage and was invited to speak at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. She was the only woman to speak at the March on Washington. -
Economic Opportunity Agency, Mitchellville Arkansas
In 1968, Bates moved to Mitchellville, Arkansas and helped the majority black town improve their community, because it was mainly impoverished and lacking in economic resources. She became the director of the Economic Opportunity Agency and spent this stage of her life showing that poor African Americans could become economically self-sufficient by partnering with the government. -
Death
Daisy Bates died on November 4th, 1999. She was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1999. In May 2000, thousands gathered to honor her memory and president Bill Clinton recognized her achievements. The state of Arkansas made the 3rd Monday in February Daisy Gatson Bates Day.
