Little Rock Nine Research Paper

The Little rock nine were a Group of African Americans who weren’t allowed to enter a all white school called Central High School.The nine members of the little rock nine were Ernest Green , Minnijean Brown , Elizabeth Eckford , Melba Pattillo, Thelma Mothershed Wair, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Gloria Ray Karlmark , and Jefferson Alison Thomas. Ernest G. Green was born on September 22,1957 , in Little Rock Arkansas.
Ernest Green Sr. was his father ,and Lothire Green was his mother . His father attended Michigan State University. Ernest came from a family that encouraged education. Ernest participated in church activities and Boy Scouts , later on he earned his eagle Scouts rank.Ernest attended Dunbar Junior High School , a school for black people where he graduated after
ninth grade. Ernest then transferred to Horace Mann High School, a school for African Americans.

Minnijean Brown was born on September 11,1941 ,in Little Rock Arkansas .
Minnijean was born and raised by Mr.Willie and Mrs.Imogene Brown. Minnijean was the oldest of four children. Her father was a mason and a landscaping contractor. Her mother was a homemaker and a nurse’s aid. Her brother Bobby was the president of the Black United Youth (BUY) of Arkansas in the 1960’s.

Elizabeth Eckford was born on October 4,1941. Elizabeth was born to Oscar and Birdie Eckford, she is one of six children.Her father worked nights maintenance worker for Missouri Pacific Railroad’s Little Rock station. Her mother taught at a black school for blind and deaf.Her mother taught the blind and deaf how to iron and wash for themselves. Elizabeth had parents who supported her in every way and encouraged education. Melba Pattillo Beals was born on December 7, 1941 , in Little Rock Arkansas. Her parents were Lois Marie Pattillo and Howell Pattillo. Her mother was one of the first black graduates of University of Arkansas in 1954. Her mother was a High School teacher. Her father worked Missouri Pacific Railroad. Her Brother Conrad was a U.S marshal.
Melba and her family lived with her grandmother, India Peyton. `Melba attended Horace Mann High School.

Thelma Mothershed Wair was born November 29,1940, in Bloomsburg Texas.
Her parents were Arlevis Leander and Hosanna Claire Moore Mothershed. Arlevis was a Psychiatric aid at the veterans hospital. Her mother was a homemaker. Thelma had two brothers and three sisters. Thelma attended Dunbar Junior High School and Horace Mann, like Ernest, Minnijean ,Elizabeth ,Melba ,Thelma, Terrence, Carlotta,Gloria, and Jefferson.

Terrence Roberts was born on December 3,1941. His parents were William and Margaret Roberts . William was a World War two veteran and his mother was a cater.
Terrence attended Dunbar Junior High School and Horace Mann High School. Terrence’s parents urged him to continue his education and that is exactly what he did.

Carlotta Walls LaNier was born on December 18, 1942. Carlotta was born to Juanita and Cartelyou Walls, in Little Rock. Carlotta had two sisters, her father was a brick mason and her mother was a secretary of the Public Housing. Cartelyou was also a World War two veteran. Carlotta attended Dunbar Junior High School.

Gloria Ray Karlmark was born on September 26, 1942. She was one of three children , Harvey C. and Julia Miller Ray. Her father was a Arkansas Agricultural Extension Services for Negroes. Her mother was a sociologist working for the state of Arkansas. She was a fifteen year old student at a all black school Horace Mann HIgh School. Jefferson Allison Thomas was born on September 19,1942.
Jefferson was one of seven children. He was born to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Thomas. Thomas was a track athlete in Horace Mann. Jefferson and his eight friends now known as the little rock nine decided to transfer to a all white school called Central High School, as Sophomores, for the 1957 -58 school year. These nine brave students tried to to enter Central high school, unsuccessfully, on September 4,1957. The Governor Faubus ordered National Guard troops to turn the nine away. Elizabeth entered the campus on Parks Street and was confronted by a angry mob. She managed to reach the bench at the bus stop to take her to her mother’s work. The group stayed home for two weeks trying to keep up to their school work. Later the federal court ordered Faubus to stop. Faubus had to remove his guards from the school’s entrance. The nine entered the school for the first time, but the mob outside were beating and chasing the black reporters chanting two..four..six..eight we ain’t gonna integrate. The police were afraid the mob was going to increase so they removed the nine during the
morning.

The little rock nine were once again waiting at home for instructions on what to do next. On September 25,1957 the nine were escorted to classes by the National Guards. The guards could not go everywhere with the students so they suffered harassment such as kicking, shoving, and name calling. The nine did not have classes together and all of them were physically and verbally harassed. Minnijean brown was the only one who fought back, Minnijean accidently dropped a bowl of chili on two white boys and students were pushing chairs at her. Later on in February a group of girls threw a purse filled with combination locks at her, she responded by calling the girls “white trash’ and was expelled. Minnijean then moved to New york and graduated from New Lincoln High in 1959. The other eight student remained at Central until the end of the school year. Ernest Green was the first to graduate and Dr.Martin Luther King attended his ceremony. The heroic nine bravely stood up for what the believed was right, and risked their lives to try and desegregate Central High School. The nine all graduated in the same year except Minnijean who was expelled and graduated the year after Melba was beaten and harassed badly , she had acid thrown in her eyes and was locked in the wash room stall and had pieces of flaming paper thrown on top of her head. Melba did not fight back seven though