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Ratification of The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence stated that "all men are created equal". The irony of which, in the context of American History, cannot be overstated ("History: Brown v."). -
Passage of the 13th Amendment
The ratification of the 13th Amendment after the Civil War put a formal end to slavery ("History: Brown v."). -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment prohibited states from denying anyone the right to vote based on race ("History: Brown v."). -
Plessy Vs Ferguson
The Supreme Court decision that declared segregation is not unconstitutional based on the 'separate but equal' premise ("Separate but Equal"). -
Birth of Sid Mcmath
Sidney Sanders Mcmath was born in Columbia County, Arkansas on June 14th, 1912. His family would move to Hot Springs shortly after where Sid would begin his political career fighting local corruption ("Sid Mcmath"). -
World War 2 (1939-1945)
During WW2, Mcmath served the US Marine Corps in American Samoa. His role in the Battle of Piva Forks won him the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, and promotion to Lieutenant
Colonel ("Sid Mcmath"). -
Harry S. Truman Presidency (1945-1953)
President Truman is mostly known for dropping the bomb on Japan to end WW2, but he was also a champion of civil rights and the working class (Ader, "Why the Dixiecrats," 359). -
The Dixiecrat party
The 'Dixiecrats' or States Rights Democratic Party campaigned on the issue of states rights with civil rights as a talking point in the 1948 election. This appealed to mostly southern segregationists. When Strom Thurmond was defeated by Harry S. Truman, the party fell apart (Ader, "Why the Dixiecrats," 357). -
Sid Mcmath 34th Governor of Arkansas (1949-1953)
During his tenure as governor, Sid Mcmath was a great proponent of improving state education and infrastructure. Under his administration, rural areas received electricity and over 2,000 miles of interstate highway were built in Arkansas. On the issue of race, he was a moderate. He added to the budget of all-black schools, fought the Dixiecrat segregationists, sought pay raises for African American teachers, and proposed to repeal the Poll Tax ("Sid Mcmath"). -
Mcmath loses 3rd term election
Mcmath was defeated by Francis Cherry, mostly due to an accusation of corruption in the Mcmath Highway Scandal. It was reported that highway contractors were forced to donate to Mcmath's re-election campaign before they would receive a contract. He was never convicted, but this greatly damaged his reputation. Mcmath would never hold public office again. In the years after, he became a successful attorney in Little Rock ("Sid Mcmath"). -
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidency (1953-1961)
A decorated WW2 General, Eisenhower obtained a truce with Korea and worked to ease Cold War tensions. Domestically, he ordered the desegregation of the Armed Forces, writing, "There must be no second class citizen in this country." He also sent troops to Little Rock to aid the Central High 9 students in their entry of the school ("Dwight D. Eisenhower"). -
Brown Vs. Board of Education Opinion Delivered
Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion, "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.." This got the ball rolling for desegregation ("History: Brown v. Board"). -
Orval Faubus 36th Governor of Arkansas (1955-1967)
Orval E. Faubus was re-elected six times. He did not start out a huge proponent of segregation, in fact, he was elected initially by the labor union. Over time, he moved toward the more popular segregationist stance, opposing President Eisenhower in the Central High debacle and going so far as to shut down Little Rock High Schools for the whole year in 1958 ("Desegregation to Resegregation," 258,266-267). -
Citizens Coach Company hits streets of Little Rock
The buses were union-owned and quietly desegregated. This event led to a conflict between the bi-racial labor unions, who supported racial moderates like Mcmath, and the old political guard of Little Rock for control of the city (Pierce, "The City Manager," 166). -
City Manager System implemented in Little Rock.
The city manager system was created by the old guard to replace the city council elected by wards every two years. This new system was controlled by a board of directors who are elected at large every four years. This stripped the power from individual union neighborhoods. Before the Little Rock 9, The old guard knee-capped the only political movement in the city and state working to bring blacks and whites together (Pierce, "The City Manager," 192, 204.) -
Arkansas National Guard Blockade of Central High School
Governor Faubus orders the Arkansas National Guard to keep any "Negro" children from entering Central High. On Sept 20th of that year, the court ruled that Faubus could no longer use the National Guard to keep the children from entering Central High, so he removed them, which invited an angry mob to take charge (Brantley, “Desegregation," 264). -
President Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730
This order authorized the National Guard and the Air
National Guard for the purpose of enforcing orders of the United States District Court to let the Little Rock Nine pass safely into school (Brantley, “Desegregation," 251). -
William F. Rector Announces building of Pulaski Academy
Pulaski Academy was built in the post segregation "freedom of choice" era in the west side of Little Rock in a white dominated neighborhood to combat integration. In 2003, only 1 out of the 152 Pulaski Academy graduates was African American (Johnson III, "Resisting Integration," 281). -
Death of Sid Mcmath
McMath died on October 4, 2003, in Little Rock and is buried in Pinecrest Cemetery in Saline County ("Sid Mcmath"). -
Judge Bill Wilson declares Little Rock School District unitary
This decision was upheld by the Eighth District U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009, meaning the LRSD was no longer under supervision of the courts. They were declared desegregated in spite of the fact that some believe the LRSD has been re-segregating over the last few decades, largely due to white flight to suburban areas. The number of white students in Little Rock not enrolling in the city’s public schools is around fifty percent today ("Little Rock School Desegregation").
