Tag Archives: Central High School National Historic Site

Black History Month Spotlight – Central High School National Historic Site

Posted on by

Little Rock 2011 036The new Arkansas Civil Rights History Audio Tour was launched in November 2015. Produced by the City of Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock allows the many places and stories of the City’s Civil Rights history to come to life an interactive tour.  This month, during Black History Month, the Culture Vulture looks at some of the stops on this tour which focus on African American history.

In September 1957, Central High School was at the center of international attention when Gov. Orval E. Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent nine black students from attending. President Dwight D. Eisenhower later federalized the National Guard and sent in federal troops to escort the students to class. The school became a crucial battleground in the struggle for civil rights. Dramatic media images of the conflict seared themselves into public memory.

The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and Visitor Center opened in September 2007 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the school’s desegregation. The interactive displays include interviews with the Little Rock Nine and historic video clips. The Center presents a broad view of civil and human rights struggles in the United States and around the world. Central High School is the only functioning high school in the United States to be located within the boundary of a national historic site.

The app, funded by a generous grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, was a collaboration among UALR’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity, the City of Little Rock, the Mayor’s Tourism Commission, and KUAR, UALR’s public radio station, with assistance from the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Little Rock Look Back: The Little Rock Nine finally enter Central High

Posted on by

101st_Airborne_at_Little_Rock_Central_HighIt was 58 years ago today that the Little Rock Nine entered Central High School and stayed. On one hand, this brought to the end a nearly month long standoff between segregationists and those who wanted to obey the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision.

In the bigger picture, the struggle did not end that day.  Throughout the remainder of the school year, the Little Rock Nine were subjected to threats, isolation and hostility.  Outside of the school, while the crowds may had dispersed after September 25, the raw feelings did not subside.

This was evidenced by the fact that the following year the high schools were closed to avoid having them integrated.

But September 25, 1957, was an historic day in the United States. Under guard of members of the 101st Airborne Division of the Army, the Little Rock Nine were escorted into Central High School. This action by President Dwight Eisenhower was the result of the intrusive efforts of Governor Orval Faubus who had used the Arkansas National Guard to keep the nine students out.

The City of Little Rock was largely a bystander in this issue. The form of government was changing from Mayor-Council to City Manager in November 1957. Therefore Mayor Woodrow Mann and the entire City Council were lame ducks. Mann, whose son was a senior at Central, tried to focus on keeping the peace in Little Rock. Most (if not all) of his Council members sided with the Governor.

Congressman Brooks Hays, a Little Rock resident, had tried to broker an agreement between the President and the Governor but was unsuccessful.  Following that, Mayor Mann was in discussions with the White House about the ability of the Little Rock Police Department to maintain order.  Finally, in the interest of public safety, the President federalized the National Guard and removed them. This paved the way for the Army to come in.

Though the school year was not easy, the nine youths who became known worldwide as the Little Rock Nine were finally in school.  They were Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton, Governor Mike Huckabee and Mayor Jim Dailey, famously held open the doors of Central High for the Little Rock Nine on the 40th anniversary.  Ten years later, Clinton, Huckabee and Dailey returned joined by current Governor Mike Beebe and Mayor Mark Stodola to host the 50th anniversary events.

Today the school is a National Historic Site, while still functioning as a high school.

The Brown Sisters Speak:featuring Phyllis Brown and Minnijean Brown Trickey

Posted on by

 Little Rock Central High School NHS invites you to upcoming community programs in commemoration and celebration of Women’s History Month.  

  

 

Saturday, March 14th – 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. 
Ron Robinson Theater
100 River Market Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201 
501-320-5715

Phyllis Brown and Minnijean Brown Trickey will sit down for a candid conversation about their personal experiences with segregation and being catalysts for change.  Phyllis, social activist and former member of SNCC, and sister Minnijean, member of the Little Rock Nine and social justice advocate, will share their views on the reality of social control and their knowledge of spiritual violations during times of resistance.

 
Presented in partnership with our friends at Central Arkansas Library System and the Ron Robinson Theater.  


         photos courtesy of Wayne Newton,   Isaiah Trickey

LR Cultural Touchstone: Deborah Baldwin

Posted on by

9 Deborah BaldwinAs a historian, arts patron, and administrator, Deborah Baldwin has had a hand in shaping Little Rock’s cultural scene for nearly thirty years.   As Chair of the UALR History Department from 1986 to 1992, she lead the department as it created the History Institute which sponsors the “Evenings with History” lecture series.  At the time it was started, it was one of the few lecture series in Little Rock (if not the only one).

A member of the UALR faculty since 1980, Baldwin is a specialist in modern Mexican history with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She has published a book on the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and a variety of articles, primarily on Mexican social history topic.

As a History Department faculty member, she has lead the Public History seminar. This program has documented the history of several Little Rock cultural institutions over the years including the Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Museum of Discovery.  The Public History program has trained many of the museum professionals working in Little Rock today.  The Central High Museum, a private forerunner of the National Park Service Central High National Historic Site Visitor Center, was lead in a large part by persons associated with the UALR Public History Program.

Starting in the mid-1990s, Baldwin led the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.  In that capacity, she oversaw the visual and performing arts programming at UALR.  Under her leadership, the Departments of Art, Music, and Theatre & Dance were all revitalized.  As a part of this, she ensured that cutting-edge technology was being integrated to arts curriculum.  She also led efforts to upgrade the performance facilities.  During her tenure as Dean, the College also played leading roles in the commemoration of the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the integration of Central High School, the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, and the “Life Interrupted” exhibit which highlighted the Japanese-American internment experience in Arkansas.  She also oversaw the creation of Finale!, an event each spring which celebrates the arts in Little Rock and honors arts patrons.

With the creation of the Arkansas Studies Institute (a collaboration between UALR and Central Arkansas Library System), Baldwin took on additional duties as UALR’s supervisor on the project.

In 2014, UALR underwent a campus-wide administrative and academic reorganization.  In conjunction with that, Baldwin became Associate Provost for UALR Collections and Archives.  In that capacity she oversees the campus library system, Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the Sequoyah National Research Center.  She continues to teach in the Department of History.

She is a past member of the board of the Arkansas Humanities Council and the MacArthur Military History Museum Commission.

 

HOME OF THE BRAVE is feature of 7th Day of 2014 Reel Civil Rights Film Festival

Posted on by

LRFF Home_of_the_Brave_PosterLittle Rock Central High School National Historic Site commemorates the 57th anniversary of the desegregation crisis in September with the Reel Civil Rights Film Festival featuring special guests, panel discussions, and a special commemoration to honor local educators and civil rights activists. All events at local venues are FREE and open to the public

Thursday, September 25, 6:00 p.m. –Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (501 West 9th Street)
Home of the Brave

(Director: Paola di Florio) – Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Paola di Florio directs Home of the Brave, a documentary about the impact of Viola Liuzzo’s murder. A Detroit housewife and mother of five, Liuzzo was a civil rights activist who went to Alabama to help with voter registration in 1965. She was in town during the pivotal march organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which ended in violence at the Edmund Pettus Bridge near Selma.

While trying to transport the tear-gassed marchers in her car, she was shot by three members of the Ku Klux Klan. Suspects Eugene Thomas, Collie Leroy Wilkins Jr., and William Orville Eaton were found guilty of civil rights violations and later acquitted. The film also explores the FBI investigation in the aftermath of her death, as well as the reaction in the Liuzzo home.  The film is narrated by Stockard Channing.

The ceremony will be moderated by Dr. Victor Snyder, former seven-term U.S. Congressman (D-AR, 2nd district).

The film will be followed by remarks from Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe and Sally Liuzzo-Prado, daughters of Viola Liuzzo.

Presenting Sponsor –Little Rock Film Festival

Premier Sponsor –Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Supporting Sponsors: arfilm|Arkansas Production Alliance, Central High Museum Inc., City of Little Rock, Conyers Institute of Public Policy, Jefferson National Parks Association, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Little Rock School District, Marriott Little Rock, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Riverdale 10 Movies, National Park Service, Sue Smith Vacations/Vacation Valet, North Point Toyota, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Philander Smith College, Whole Hog Cafe –North Little Rock, Arkansas Education Television Network, and Arkansas Motion Picture Institute

Little Rock Look Back: 57 Years since 1957

Posted on by

101st_Airborne_at_Little_Rock_Central_HighIt was 57 years ago today that the Little Rock Nine entered Central High School and stayed. On one hand, this brought to the end a nearly month long standoff between segregationists and those who wanted to obey the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision.

In the bigger picture, the struggle did not end that day.  Throughout the remainder of the school year, the Little Rock Nine were subjected to threats, isolation and hostility.  Outside of the school, while the crowds may had dispersed after September 25, the raw feelings did not subside.

This was evidenced by the fact that the following year the high schools were closed to avoid having them integrated.

But September 25, 1957, was an historic day in the United States. Under guard of members of the 101st Airborne Division of the Army, the Little Rock Nine were escorted into Central High School. This action by President Dwight Eisenhower was the result of the intrusive efforts of Governor Orval Faubus who had used the Arkansas National Guard to keep the nine students out.

The City of Little Rock was largely a bystander in this issue. The form of government was changing from Mayor-Council to City Manager in November 1957. Therefore Mayor Woodrow Mann and the entire City Council were lame ducks. Mann, whose son was a senior at Central, tried to focus on keeping the peace in Little Rock. Most (if not all) of his Council members sided with the Governor.

Congressman Brooks Hays, a Little Rock resident, had tried to broker an agreement between the President and the Governor but was unsuccessful.  Following that, Mayor Mann was in discussions with the White House about the ability of the Little Rock Police Department to maintain order.  Finally, in the interest of public safety, the President federalized the National Guard and removed them. This paved the way for the Army to come in.

Though the school year was not easy, the nine youths who became known worldwide as the Little Rock Nine were finally in school.  They were Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton, Governor Mike Huckabee and Mayor Jim Dailey, famously held open the doors of Central High for the Little Rock Nine on the 40th anniversary.  Ten years later, Clinton, Huckabee and Dailey returned joined by current Governor Mike Beebe and Mayor Mark Stodola to host the 50th anniversary events.

Today the school is a National Historic Site, while still functioning as a high school.

Six educators, activists honored tonight as part of 2014 Reel Civil Rights Film Festival

Posted on by

lrff_film-projects_civil-rightsLittle Rock Central High School National Historic Site commemorates the 57th anniversary of the desegregation crisis in September with the Reel Civil Rights Film Festival featuring special guests, panel discussions, and a special commemoration to honor local educators and civil rights activists. All events at local venues are FREE and open to the public.

Honoring Liberators of a Collective Conscious Community

Tonight at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (501 West 9th Street), Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site will honor local educators and social activists including: Dr. Dexter Booth, Dr. Beverly Divers-White, Othello Faison, Ed Hawkins (in memoriam), Nancy Rousseau, and Sammie Nell Irving Tollette.

The keynote will be delivered by Dr. Terrence Roberts, member of the Little Rock Nine; the ceremony will be moderated by Dr. Michael Twyman, director of the UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity.

Presenting Sponsor –Little Rock Film Festival

Premier Sponsor –Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Supporting Sponsors: arfilm|Arkansas Production Alliance, Central High Museum Inc., City of Little Rock, Conyers Institute of Public Policy, Jefferson National Parks Association, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Little Rock School District, Marriott Little Rock, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Riverdale 10 Movies, National Park Service, Sue Smith Vacations/Vacation Valet, North Point Toyota, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Philander Smith College, Whole Hog Cafe –North Little Rock, Arkansas Education Television Network, and Arkansas Motion Picture Institute