Little rock nine 1957 courtesy nps

Little Rock Nine

By AGED 3033

  • First Public School in Little Rock, AR opens

    First Public School in Little Rock, AR opens
    The first public school in Little Rock opens, but is only available for white students.

  • 14th Amendment

    14th Amendment
    The 14th amendment granted citizenship and legal rights to African Americans and enslaved people who had been emancipated after the American Civil War.

  • Little Rock Central High School is Built

    Little Rock Central High School is Built
    The school was built to meet future enrollment needs and was designed to inspire awe for learning. It cost 1.5 million dollars to build. The original thought by the city was that this Neo-Gothic Revival style design building would bring families from all over the nation to enroll their children in this school.

  • Paul Laurence Dunbar High School opens

    Paul Laurence Dunbar High School opens
    A high school for African American students in built just a mile from Little Rock Central. The school costs $400,000 - the Rosenwald Foundation donates $67,500 and $30,000 comes from the Rockefeller General Education Fund.

  • Brown vs. Board of Education

    Brown vs. Board of Education
    The Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.

  • LRSD shows intent to comply with Brown vs. BoE

    LRSD shows intent to comply with Brown vs. BoE
    Five days later, the Little Rock School Board and Superintendent Virgil Blossom issues a policy statement saying it will comply with the Supreme Court’s decision, but only after the courts have outlined an implementation decree.

  • African American Students are declined Enrollment in LRSD

    African American Students are declined Enrollment in LRSD
    Twenty-seven African American students in Little Rock attempt to enroll for the second semester at Central High, Little Rock Technical High, Forest Heights Junior High, and Forest Park Elementary School. They are refused enrollment by the LRSD Board of Education. The students were told to attend Horace Mann High School, which was built on the former Dunbar High School site.

  • African American students attempt to enter Central High

    African American students attempt to enter Central High
    Daisy Bates called the families informing of logistics for Wednesday morning. Do not come to Central High meet near the school around 8:30 a.m. The Eckfords do not have a telephone. Elizabeth rides a bus to Central, approaching the school just before 8:00 a.m. Elizabeth finds herself in a mob of 300+ people. Governor Faubus says the students are not to be permitted to enter the school. 10 students have been denied entry in direct violation of federal law.

  • Earnest Green Graduates from Little Rock Central High

    Earnest Green Graduates from Little Rock Central High
    Senior Ernest Green becomes the first African American student to graduate from Central High School during its 149th commencement ceremony held at Quigley Stadium.
  • Period: to

    The Lost Year

    During the school year 1958-59, Governor Orval Faubus closed all high schools in Little Rock, locking out 3,665 black and white students from a public education, and locking in almost 200 teachers and administrators to contracts to serve empty classrooms. Classes did not resume at Central High until August 12th, 1959.