What was little rock central high school like?

Answer 1

It was probably a typical high school in the segregated south-- whites only. Built in 1927, it was originally called Little Rock Senior High School. It was large-- in fact, it was known as one of the largest schools in the United States; and it probably sent a number of students to college. But then, in 1957, what was now known as Central High School got into the news when it received the order to desegregate-- a part of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling (Brown vs. Board of Education) that made segregation illegal. Unfortunately, most of the white students in Arkansas (and in most southern states) had been taught to believe in segregation, and while there may have been a few who secretly supported integration, most went along with what their parents believed.

When the students at Central heard that nine black students (called "Negroes" back then) were being bused to their high school, crowds of angry white adults gathered, along with some of the white students who did not want their school to be the focus of controversy. In the end, the National Guard was called in by President Eisenhower, to protect the black students and keep angry whites away from them. Some of the black students were spat upon, pushed, and threatened, just for wanting to go to school there. In the end, the black students did attend, but it was not a pleasant experience for them. And it probably was not very pleasant for the white students either-- the media scrutiny continued for months.