Black History Essay

Ernest Green
In September of 1957, Ernest Green with eight others arrived at Central High School. The school system in Little Rock remained segregated despite the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Nine black students had enrolled regardless of the protestations of local citizens groups who wanted the school to remain segregated. On September 4 Governor Orval Faubus summoned National Guard soldiers to prevent the black students from entering the school, in defiance of federal law. Green and the other students were met with a mob on the first day of school and were not able to enter. A standoff occurred between the state and the federal government. A court order was issued ordering the National Guard to stand down. Faubus complied but replaced the Guard with the local police force. Hundreds of protestors and police were outside the school on September 23 when the black students were escorted into the school via a side door. Once the protestors in the crowd realized the students were inside a riot threatened to break out and the students were escorted from the school. After these clashes, President Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students to and from school. Ernest Green, and The Little Rock Nine were able to attend Central High, but were subjected to verbal and physical harassment from many of the students. Green and the other black students remained under federal protection for the remainder of the school year. Ernest Green not only attended school to protect and follow his rights, but he also became the inspiration that fueled the civil rights movement, particularly in regard to equalizing education.   Thanks to Mr. Green, America was moved one step in the right direction.

Rosa Parks

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American woman who worked as a seamstress, boarded this Montgomery City bus to go home from work. On this bus on that day, Rosa Parks initiated a new era in the American quest for...