Race, Politics, and Memory: A Documentary History of the Little Rock School Crisis

2. During the Crisis

CHAPTER 2 During the Crisis The crisis over the desegregation of Central High School itself began on September 2, 1957, when Governor Orval Faubus announced on television the day before school was scheduled to begin that he planned to call out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the black students from entering Central High School because of “evidence of disorder and threats of disorder.” The actual crisis officially ended on September 25, when the nine black children were escorted to Central High with the protection of the U.S. Army. The events of those three weeks reverberated for months and years after. The documents in “During the Crisis” detail the events from multiple perspectives of both major and minor players. Document 19: The Governor’s Proclamation, September 2, 1957. Claiming that he had consulted with numerous persons and groups, including Superintendent of Schools Virgil Blossom, and was convinced that violence and “blood in the streets” was likely if the Little Rock schools were integrated, Governor Faubus proclaimed a state of emergency and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to active duty in order to maintain the peace and protect the populace. In a televised speech delivered on the same day, he said that the schools must be operated as they have been in the past, or lives and property were at risk. The effect of the National Guard was not to prevent riot and mob rule, as they did little to restrain the crowd that gathered outside Central High and even later attempted to enter it. Instead, the troops prevented the nine students from entering Central High when they attempted to do so on September 3. 1LEWIS_pages_i-110.qxd 7/20/07 10:57 AM Page 41 WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of Arkansas is vested with the authority to order to active duty the Militia of this State in case of tumult; riot or breach of the peace, or imminent danger thereof; and WHEREAS, it has been made known to me, as Governor, from many sources, that there is imminent danger of tumult, riot and breach of the peace and the doing of violence to persons and property in Pulaski County, Arkansas; NOW THEREFORE, I, Orval E. Faubus, Governor of the State of Arkansas do hereby proclaim that a state of emergency presently exists and I do hereby order to active duty Major General Sherman T. Clinger, the Adjutant General of Arkansas, the State Militia units consisting of the Base Detachment of Adams Field and the State Headquarters Detachment at Camp Robinson, and any other units which may be necessary to accomplish the mission of maintaining or restoring law and order and to preserve the peace, health, safety and security of the citizens of Pulaski County, Arkansas. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed. Done in office in the City of Little Rock this 2nd day of September, 1957. DOCUMENT 20: “What They’re Saying About Little Rock: Press and Individuals React With Brickbats and Bouquets.” Arkansas Gazette, September 5, 1957. Courtesy Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This article, written early in the crisis, offers a survey of reactions around the nation. Harry Ashmore was the executive editor of the Arkansas Gazette, the city’s main newspaper, and author of a series of Pulitzer prize–winning editorials during the 1957 crisis. WASHINGTON, SEPT. 4—Senator Richard L. Neuberger (Dem. Ore.) telegraphed today to both Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson and Neil McElroy, who soon will succeed Wilson, calling for a review immediately of federal contributions to the Arkansas National Guard. 42 During the Crisis 1LEWIS_pages_i-110.qxd 7/20/07 10:57 AM Page 42 In a message, Neuberger asked “Is it either advisable from the standpoint of public policy or within the law for such contributions to continue if the Arkansas National Guard is to be an instrument used for avoidance of complying with an order of the federal District Court? This situation calls for a review at the highest level of the Defense Department. Trust you will undertake such action.” Defense Department records show that in the fiscal year which closed June 30, Uncle Sam contributed $3,320,700 in the Army Guard in Arkansas $2,288,220 to the Air Guard. The acting chief of the National Guard Bureau of the Defense Department, Maj. Gen. Winston B. Wilson, had no...