Civil rights campaigns 1945 to 1965Little Rock 1957
Notable events in the civil rights movement in the 1950s were the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Little Rock. The 1960s saw Sit Ins, the Freedom Rides and protests in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1957, desegregation laws came into effect at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Central High decided to enrol nine black students in September.
Events
The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus sent state soldiers to the school to stop the black students entering.
President Eisenhower sent 1000 US soldiers to protect the black students on their way to and from school.
Although the black students were subject to threats and violence the black students never retaliated.
One of the students, Elizabeth Eckford recalled that my knees started to shake and I wondered if I would make it to school. The crowd moved closer. Somebody started yelling ‘Drag her over to this tree! Let’s take care of that *'.
Impact
The events in Little Rock attracted worldwide attention to the civil rights movement.
The video below describes the events of the Little Rock crisis 1957.