Little Rock High School 1957

Question 1

Who was the governor of Little Rock at that time?

Answer 1

Orval Faubus

Question 2

What were Faubus’ attitudes towards integrations in schools before the elections?

Answer 2

Before, he was more moderate than some (this does not mean he was a supporter of civil rights) and Little Rock was further ahead in desegregation than in the rest of the Deep South.

Question 3

How many black pupils applied?

Answer 3

75

Question 4

How many black pupils were accepted?

Answer 4

25

Question 5

How many black pupils actually went?

Answer 5

After intimidation from white people, only 9 pupils were prepared to join.

Question 6

How did Orval Faubus respond to the 9 pupils trying to enter the school?

Answer 6

He decided to use 250 state troops (not from the federal army) to stop them.

Question 7

Who was Elizabeth Eckford and why was she alone?

Answer 7

Elizabeth was one of the 9 black students. After the NAACP heard that Faubus sent in state troops, it told the pupils to come in the following day. Elizabeth did not get the message.

Question 8

What happened to Elizabeth Eckford?

Answer 8

She faced a murderous mob and, rather than protecting her, the state troops sent her back into the mob until she was rescued by a sympathetic onlooker.

Question 9

Why was Elizabeth Eckford ignoring the reactions from the mob?

Answer 9

She had been trained not to react as it would have invited further abuse and possibly violence.

Question 10

Why did Faubus oppose integration in schools?

Answer 10

Black people typically could not vote in the Deep South so he was not aiming to secure their votes. He was trying to secure the votes of the majority which were racist (so they opposed integration in schools)

Question 11

What suggestion did one of the police officers make involving the 9 pupils?

Answer 11

To allow one of the pupils to be lynched to allow the others to escape.

Question 12

How was one of the black reporters harmed?

Answer 12

Hit by a brick. It could have easily killed him.

Question 13

Did Eisenhower believe in using the law to force integration?

Answer 13

No, he believed it would not change people’s minds.

Question 14

What did Eisenhower do at Little Rock High?

Answer 14

He sent 1000 federal troops to Little Rock High to escort the pupils into the school and ensure integration happened so that federal law was enforced.

Question 15

What did Governor Faubus do as a result of integration in Little Rock High?

Answer 15

He closed all public schools in September 1958 only to reopen them integrated in 1959.

Question 16

How did the WCC respond?

Answer 16

WCC grew and continued to intimidate black families.

They made intimidating phone calls to black families, threatening them if they tried to integrate.

Question 17

How was integration deliberately slowed down by schools?

Answer 17

Many schools only let in a few black children at a time.
Some schools let black pupils in and then segregated their classes.
Some schools introduced entrance ‘tests’ - then skewed the results against black pupils to limit the numbers of black students able to attend those schools.
Schools used the racist violence to stop black pupils attending, claiming it was ‘for their safety’.

Question 18

How did the KKK respond>

Answer 18

Carried out intimidation and even some bombings.

Question 19

What rules were given by CORE as advice to black pupils integrating into previously white schools?

Answer 19

Be clean and neat at all times.
Be polite to the teachers and other students.
Don’t shout at, or fight with, anyone - no matter how provoked you are.
Stick together.

Question 20

Did white people supporting integration help support black people?

Answer 20

Many white people who supported desegregation, were, themselves, afraid to lend support to black people?

Question 21

How did black pupils get to school?

Answer 21

They needed police escorts.