What Is Little Rock Central High School?
This enormous high school was the epicenter of desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957!
What Makes It Historical?
A public school unlike any other, this enormous, four-story, Gothic Revival school went up in 1927 under the auspices of architects, George R. Mann, Eugene John Stern, John Parks Almand, George H. Wittenberg, and Lawson L. Delony! For its first thirty years, enrollment was strictly limited to white kids, until the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that keeping Black kids from getting the resources they needed in education was inherently unconstitutional! How this would be implemented was left to Federal District Courts with a timeline of “all deliberate speed!”
Here in Little Rock, the school board planned to comply over the course of eleven years, starting with the 3-year desegregation of Central High. It was not popular among white locals, who opposed all integration, or among Black activists, who saw no reason to delay almost as long as a high school term! But the plan went forward until August of 1957, when two groups, the Capitol Citizens’ Council and the Mothers’ League of Little Rock Central High School, went to the courts to stop integration, and they were joined by Governor Orval Faubus, who mobilized the National Guard to stop nine Black students from starting school on September 4, 1957!
That’s when President Eisenhower stepped in, first ordering the governor to withdraw the National Guard, then ordering federal troops into Little Rock on September 24th, to ensure that the Little Rock Nine got to class safely. Then, in a move of astonishing pettiness, the governor ordered all the public high schools in Little Rock to close for a year. The school board split, then fired 45 teachers, then were recalled by election. A three-judge federal court ruled the closure unconstitutional, and by August of 1959, four of the original Little Rock Nine returned to Central High School.
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer with Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site!
- Donate to the Jefferson National Parks Association!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
1500 S Little Rock Nine Way
Little Rock, AR 72202
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
This is still an active school, so if you’re visiting, be sure to stop by the visitor center, which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM!
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