Little Rock Nine
Little Rock Nine Quotes
Integration of Little Rock High School, 1957
Selected Quotes & Response Questions
"The humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful
of your self-esteem each day."
--Melba Patillo, African American Student in Little Rock, Arkansas (Atlanta, GA, 1962)
The Stand Taken by President Dwight Eisenhower:
"[The day the 101st Battalion arrived,] the streets were blocked off. The soldiers closed ranks. Neighbors
came out and looked. The street was full up and down. Oh, it was beautiful. And the attitude of the
children at that moment, the respect they had. I could hear them saying, 'For the first time in my life I
truly feel like an American.' I could see it in their faces; somebody cares for me, America cares."
--Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP
The Stand Taken by Orval Faubus:
"The governor has called out the National Guard to put down trouble where none existed. He did so
without a request from those of us who are directly responsible for preservation of peace and order. The
only effect of his action is to create tension where none existed. I call the Governor's attention to the fact
that after almost a week of sensational developments brought about by his own actions, the Little Rock
police have not had a single case of interracial violence reported to them."
--Little Rock Mayor Woodrow W. Mann, September 3, 1957
Choices -- Religious Leaders and Ordinary Citizens
Perlesta Hollingsworth, an African American who lived in the city at the time, recalls, "The shocking
thing to me in 1957 was the number of whites who didn't participate in the aggression, who wouldn't do
anything but look. Neighbors would express dismay, but wouldn't do anything, wouldn't speak out
against it, would go ahead and close their doors to it."
"Somewhere along the line, [staying at Central High] became an obligation. I realized that what we were
doing was not for ourselves"
--Elizabeth Eckford, one of the "Little Rock Nine"
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
"I figured, I'm a nice person. Once they get to know me, they'll see I'm okay. We'll be friends." Minnijean
Brown was sixteen in 1957 and in the eleventh grade. According to Daisy Bates, she "sang well, was good
at sports, and liked dancing." She was the oldest of four children and lived with her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
W. B. Brown. She was also the only one of the "Little Rock Nine" who did not finish the year.
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
"Minnie was about five foot ten and this fellow couldn't have been more than five-five, five-four. And he
reminded me of a small dog, yelping at somebody's leg. Minnie had just picked up her chili, and before I
could even say, 'Minnie, why don't you tell him to shut up?' Minnie had taken this chili and dumped it on
this dude's head. There was absolute silence in the place, and then the help, all black, broke into applause.
And the white kids, the other white kids there didn't know what to do. It was the first time that anybody,
I'm sure, had seen somebody black retaliate in that sense."
Ernest Green recalled an incident in the school cafeteria in December.
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
Minnijean was suspended for six days. Soon after the incident, a white student emptied a bowl of hot
soup on her. He was suspended for two days. In February, Minnijean verbally responded to harassment
by a white student. She was expelled from Central High for the rest of the year.
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
Minnijean said of the incident:
"I just can't take everything they throw at me without fighting back. I don't think people realize what
goes on at Central. You just wouldn't believe it. They throw rocks, they spill ink on your clothes, they call
you 'ban names,' they just keep bothering you every five minutes. The white students hate me. Why do they
hate me so much?"
Choices -- Ernest Green:
"My first day inside Central High was very smooth, smoother than I expected. Outside was the main
cause. If it wasn't for the people outside, we would have finished the day. But I don't intend to quit. We'll
try again. It's still my school, and I'm entitled to it."
--Ernest Green, September 24, 1959, in a New York Post article
Choices -- The Parents of the "Little Rock Nine":
"We integrating students shared many things in common. All of our parents were strict, no-nonsense
types. Several of them were teachers and preachers, or held well-established positions in other
professions. All our folks were hardworking people who had struggled to own their homes, to provide a
stable life for their families. We share many of the same family values traditional to all small-town
Americans."
--Melba Patillo
Choices -- The Parents of the "Little Rock Nine":
Carlotta Walls was the oldest of three daughters. Her mother was a secretary and her father, a decorated
veteran of World War II, worked as a brick mason. In a conversation with Daisy Bates, Carlotta's mother
described her feelings:
"I try not to let Carlotta know how much I worry. I can't say that I'm not proud of her. Sometimes she
gets impatient with me when she's talking about what's happening at Central. And I'd say,'Now, Carlotta,
it can't be that bad.' Little does she realize that every time I see a bruise on her leg where some bully has
kicked her with steel tips on his shoes, I'm just about ready to commit murder. I keep thinking each day,
maybe tomorrow it won't be her leg; it will be her eye."
Choices -- The Parents of the "Little Rock Nine":
The families of all nine African American students were constantly harassed. At first it was threatening
phone calls late at night and rocks hurled through windows. Later the harassment took other forms.
Gloria Ray's mother lost her job in the Welfare Department after her fellow employees learned that her
daughter was "one of the nine." Carlotta Walls' father had to leave the state to find work as a brick
mason because building contractors in Little Rock refused to hire him. Elizabeth Eckford's mother was
fired from her job at the State School for the Blind where she was a teacher. The strain proved too much
for Terrence Roberts' family. They moved to California at the end of the school year.
Choices -- Teachers at Central High:
There were teachers at Central High who showed their hostility toward the "Little Rock Nine" in small
ways and large. Thelma Mothershed, one of the "Little Rock Nine," later recalled: "My homeroom
teacher . . . did strange little things. I remember that when we were absent, we'd have to go to the office
and get a readmittance slip. When I would come in to give her my readmittance slip, she wouldn't take it.
So I would just put it down on the desk, and then she would sign it and put it in the book and slide it
back across to me. Now, that was really strange. I guess she had to do something to show her class that
she wasn't particularly happy about me being in there. And then she—well, they set us in alphabetical
order and in the row where I was, there were about two seats behind me—and she started the next
person at the front seat in the next row, because she knew nobody wanted to sit behind me. She just kept
those two chairs empty. So she did little strange, subtle things—subtle as a ton of bricks."
In 1963:
"More than any other single event in many years, Little Rock demonstrated the gaping discrepancy
between the Declaration of Independence, one of the most precious documents of American history, and
the reality of twentieth century America. . . . The impact on Americans and on the world was one of
Little Rock's historical contributions to the over-all crusade for rights and dignity. A second contribution
that Little Rock made--a contribution by no means less significant or less dramatic--was its effect upon
the Negro population in the United States and particularly upon those in the South. . . . They learned
unmistakably that they possess irresistible power if they become conscious of it and unite to secure their
unalienable rights."
--Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP
Selected Quotes & Response Questions
"The humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful
of your self-esteem each day."
--Melba Patillo, African American Student in Little Rock, Arkansas (Atlanta, GA, 1962)
The Stand Taken by President Dwight Eisenhower:
"[The day the 101st Battalion arrived,] the streets were blocked off. The soldiers closed ranks. Neighbors
came out and looked. The street was full up and down. Oh, it was beautiful. And the attitude of the
children at that moment, the respect they had. I could hear them saying, 'For the first time in my life I
truly feel like an American.' I could see it in their faces; somebody cares for me, America cares."
--Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP
The Stand Taken by Orval Faubus:
"The governor has called out the National Guard to put down trouble where none existed. He did so
without a request from those of us who are directly responsible for preservation of peace and order. The
only effect of his action is to create tension where none existed. I call the Governor's attention to the fact
that after almost a week of sensational developments brought about by his own actions, the Little Rock
police have not had a single case of interracial violence reported to them."
--Little Rock Mayor Woodrow W. Mann, September 3, 1957
Choices -- Religious Leaders and Ordinary Citizens
Perlesta Hollingsworth, an African American who lived in the city at the time, recalls, "The shocking
thing to me in 1957 was the number of whites who didn't participate in the aggression, who wouldn't do
anything but look. Neighbors would express dismay, but wouldn't do anything, wouldn't speak out
against it, would go ahead and close their doors to it."
"Somewhere along the line, [staying at Central High] became an obligation. I realized that what we were
doing was not for ourselves"
--Elizabeth Eckford, one of the "Little Rock Nine"
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
"I figured, I'm a nice person. Once they get to know me, they'll see I'm okay. We'll be friends." Minnijean
Brown was sixteen in 1957 and in the eleventh grade. According to Daisy Bates, she "sang well, was good
at sports, and liked dancing." She was the oldest of four children and lived with her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
W. B. Brown. She was also the only one of the "Little Rock Nine" who did not finish the year.
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
"Minnie was about five foot ten and this fellow couldn't have been more than five-five, five-four. And he
reminded me of a small dog, yelping at somebody's leg. Minnie had just picked up her chili, and before I
could even say, 'Minnie, why don't you tell him to shut up?' Minnie had taken this chili and dumped it on
this dude's head. There was absolute silence in the place, and then the help, all black, broke into applause.
And the white kids, the other white kids there didn't know what to do. It was the first time that anybody,
I'm sure, had seen somebody black retaliate in that sense."
Ernest Green recalled an incident in the school cafeteria in December.
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
Minnijean was suspended for six days. Soon after the incident, a white student emptied a bowl of hot
soup on her. He was suspended for two days. In February, Minnijean verbally responded to harassment
by a white student. She was expelled from Central High for the rest of the year.
Choices -- Minniejean Brown:
Minnijean said of the incident:
"I just can't take everything they throw at me without fighting back. I don't think people realize what
goes on at Central. You just wouldn't believe it. They throw rocks, they spill ink on your clothes, they call
you 'ban names,' they just keep bothering you every five minutes. The white students hate me. Why do they
hate me so much?"
Choices -- Ernest Green:
"My first day inside Central High was very smooth, smoother than I expected. Outside was the main
cause. If it wasn't for the people outside, we would have finished the day. But I don't intend to quit. We'll
try again. It's still my school, and I'm entitled to it."
--Ernest Green, September 24, 1959, in a New York Post article
Choices -- The Parents of the "Little Rock Nine":
"We integrating students shared many things in common. All of our parents were strict, no-nonsense
types. Several of them were teachers and preachers, or held well-established positions in other
professions. All our folks were hardworking people who had struggled to own their homes, to provide a
stable life for their families. We share many of the same family values traditional to all small-town
Americans."
--Melba Patillo
Choices -- The Parents of the "Little Rock Nine":
Carlotta Walls was the oldest of three daughters. Her mother was a secretary and her father, a decorated
veteran of World War II, worked as a brick mason. In a conversation with Daisy Bates, Carlotta's mother
described her feelings:
"I try not to let Carlotta know how much I worry. I can't say that I'm not proud of her. Sometimes she
gets impatient with me when she's talking about what's happening at Central. And I'd say,'Now, Carlotta,
it can't be that bad.' Little does she realize that every time I see a bruise on her leg where some bully has
kicked her with steel tips on his shoes, I'm just about ready to commit murder. I keep thinking each day,
maybe tomorrow it won't be her leg; it will be her eye."
Choices -- The Parents of the "Little Rock Nine":
The families of all nine African American students were constantly harassed. At first it was threatening
phone calls late at night and rocks hurled through windows. Later the harassment took other forms.
Gloria Ray's mother lost her job in the Welfare Department after her fellow employees learned that her
daughter was "one of the nine." Carlotta Walls' father had to leave the state to find work as a brick
mason because building contractors in Little Rock refused to hire him. Elizabeth Eckford's mother was
fired from her job at the State School for the Blind where she was a teacher. The strain proved too much
for Terrence Roberts' family. They moved to California at the end of the school year.
Choices -- Teachers at Central High:
There were teachers at Central High who showed their hostility toward the "Little Rock Nine" in small
ways and large. Thelma Mothershed, one of the "Little Rock Nine," later recalled: "My homeroom
teacher . . . did strange little things. I remember that when we were absent, we'd have to go to the office
and get a readmittance slip. When I would come in to give her my readmittance slip, she wouldn't take it.
So I would just put it down on the desk, and then she would sign it and put it in the book and slide it
back across to me. Now, that was really strange. I guess she had to do something to show her class that
she wasn't particularly happy about me being in there. And then she—well, they set us in alphabetical
order and in the row where I was, there were about two seats behind me—and she started the next
person at the front seat in the next row, because she knew nobody wanted to sit behind me. She just kept
those two chairs empty. So she did little strange, subtle things—subtle as a ton of bricks."
In 1963:
"More than any other single event in many years, Little Rock demonstrated the gaping discrepancy
between the Declaration of Independence, one of the most precious documents of American history, and
the reality of twentieth century America. . . . The impact on Americans and on the world was one of
Little Rock's historical contributions to the over-all crusade for rights and dignity. A second contribution
that Little Rock made--a contribution by no means less significant or less dramatic--was its effect upon
the Negro population in the United States and particularly upon those in the South. . . . They learned
unmistakably that they possess irresistible power if they become conscious of it and unite to secure their
unalienable rights."
--Daisy Bates, President, Arkansas NAACP