Daisy was raised by Orle and Susie Smith. She grew up believing that they were her real birth parents. Her mother was killed by three men who sexually assaulted her. Daisy’s father left the family leaving Daisy in the custody and care of a close friend, L.C Bates. L.C Bates and Daisy had dated for about several years and then married in the year of 1942 and lived in Little Rock.
Daisy and her husband decided that they both wanted to live up to their dream that they both had shared and decided to have ownership of a newspaper. The first issue appeared in May 9th, 1941. The paper became an avid voice for civil rights even before a nationally recognized movement had emerged. In 1952, Daisy Bates was elected president of the Arkansas Conference of NAACP branches.
The newspaper Daisy owned with her husband was called the “Arkansas State Press”, which publicized violations of the Supreme Court's desegregation rulings. Bates had guided and gave knowledge to the nine students that are known by Little Rock Nine, who tried to enroll in Little Rock Central High School, which was previously back then an all-white institution. The students' attempts to enroll provoked a confrontation with Governor Orval Faubus, who called out the National Guard to prevent their entry. White mobs went to the school and threatened to kill the black students. Daisy reminded me in many ways from her brave sacrifices to never be ashamed for who you are and what you are. To keep trying and never give up.
Daisy was a pivotal figure in that seminal moment of the civil rights movement. In this essay, I