The individual names of the nine Black students who enrolled
at all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas 62 years ago may not
readily come to mind, but the impact of their collective courage is still recognized
around the world. Decades later, the Little
Rock Nine remain among the icons of the Civil Rights Movement especially on
September 25th, the day the teenagers arrived at Central High
escorted by the Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
The students had attempted to desegregate the school earlier
that September but were prevented from doing so by the National Guard which had
been called in by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, a staunch segregationist. There
were hundreds of angry white protesters as the students arrived on September 4th
accompanied by a coalition of ministers. Elizabeth Eckford, one of the
teenagers, had not been informed of the plan because she and her family did not
have a telephone. Elizabeth went to school that morning alone, and what she
faced is seared into the minds of millions through a photo that captured the
angry, jeering mob.
“On the morning of September 4th, my mother was doing what she
usually did. My mother was making sure everybody’s hair looked right and
everybody had their lunch money and their notebooks and things. But she did
finally get quiet and we had family prayer. I remember my father walking back
and forth. My father worked at night and normally he would have been asleep at
that time, but he was awake and he was walking back and forth chomping on cigar
that wasn’t lit.”
“I expected that I would go to school as before on a city
bus. So, I walked a few blocks to the bus stop, got on the bus, and rode to
within two blocks of the school. I got off the bus and I noticed along the
street that there were many more cars than usual. And I remember hearing the
murmur of a crowd. But, when I got to the corner where the school was, I was
reassured seeing these soldiers circling the school grounds. And I saw students
going to school. I saw the guards break ranks as students approached the
sidewalks so that they could pass through to get to school. And I approached
the guard at the corner as I had seen some other students do and they closed
ranks. So, I thought; ‘Maybe I am not supposed to enter at this point.’ So, I
walked further down the line of guards to where there was another sidewalk and
I attempted to pass through there. But when I stepped up, they crossed rifles.
And again I said to myself; ‘So maybe I’m supposed to go down to where the main
entrance is.’ So, I walked toward the center of the street and when I got to
about the middle and I approached the guard he directed me across the
street into
the crowd. It was only then that I realized that they were barring
me, that I wouldn’t go to school.”
Later that month Eckford and the other students
integrated Central High, but it was only after President
Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troopers to Little Rock to escort them.
Last year students at Central High School along with the
Central High Memory Project, the Little Rock Central High School National
Historic Project and others dedicated the Elizabeth
Eckford Commemorative Bench. The bench is a replica of the original bench where
Eckford sat on September 4th as she sought a place to retreat from
the mob.
Elizabeth Eckford, Minnijean Brown, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo,
Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, and Carlotta Walls are eight of the Little Rock
Nine and are still living. Jefferson Thomas passed away in 2010 from pancreatic
cancer. Daisy Gaston Bates, the then-NAACP President for Arkansas and chaperone
of the teenagers, is also deceased.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”
According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance.
The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”
On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.
During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it.
At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”
She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.
Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.
President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life, advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.
Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in 1977.
Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not considered before.”
Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.
The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.
“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”
President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty, compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice
The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.
“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.