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1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Declared segregation in public schools as unconstitutional. U.S. public schools were instructed to integrate. In a week, Arkansas was one of two Southern states to announce it would begin immediately to take steps to comply with the new ruling. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14080752
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September 2, 1957 Arkansas National Guard surrounds Central High School
Governor Orval Faubus summons the National Arkansas Guard to prohibit any black student to enter the school. Faubus announces this in a public tv speech that the orders are proactive to prevent violence to all citizens and property and to “preserve the peace.” http://www.arkansas.com/uniquely-arkansas/central-high/
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September 4 Little Rock Nine
Nine black students, known as the “Little Rock Nine” attempt to enter Central High, but are turned away by the National Guard. One of the nine, Elizabeth Eckford, arrived alone at the school to face the Guardsmen. She was able to reach a bus stop bench and Mrs. Grace Lorch, a white woman, stayed with her and boarded the bus with her to take her back to her mother’s school. http://www.arkansas.com/uniquely-arkansas/central-high/
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September 20 NAACP support students to enter school
A federal judge, Judge Davies, ruled Faubus had not used the troops to preserve law and order and ordered them removed. The governor could not use the National Guard unless it was to protect the nine black students as they entered the school. Faubus removed the Guardsmen and the Little Rock police moved in. http://www.arkansas.com/uniquely-arkansas/central-high/
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September 23 Angry Mob
An angry mob of more than 1,000 white people surrounded the schools, while the nine black children were escorted inside. White students, including Sammie Dean Parker, jumped out of the windows to avoid contact with the black students. Parker was arrested and taken away. The police could not control the mob, so they removed the nine children from the school. They finally ran to safety in a black section of town. http://www.arkansas.com/uniquely-arkansas/central-high/
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September 24 Telegram to President Dwight Eisenhower.
U.S. Congressman Brooks and Little Rock Mayor Woodrow Mann asked the federal government for help via a telegram to President Eisenhower. The president displaced between 1,100 and 1,200 federal troops of the 101st Airborne Division and 10,000 National Guardsmen on duty. http://www.arkansas.com/uniquely-arkansas/central-high/
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September 25 The Little Rock Nine are back
Under troops escort, the nine black children are escorted back into Central HIgh School though the front entrance. Edwin Walker, U.S. Army addressed the white students in the school’s auditorium before the nine students arrive. http://www.arkansas.com/uniquely-arkansas/central-high/
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