That was not the end of hostility surrounding the nine. Faubus was set on preventing his schools from integration. The Little Rock School Board was granted an injunction delaying integration until 1961. However, the ruling was overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and integration was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1958. Faubus ignored the ruling and used his power to shut down Little Rock's public schools. During the shutdown, white students attended private schools in the area but black students had no choice but to wait.
Three of the Little Rock Nine students moved away. The remaining five took correspondence courses from the University of Arkansas. When Faubus' actions were declared unconstitutional and the schools reopened in 1959, only two black students were assigned to Central--Jefferson Thompson and Carlotta Walls. They graduated in 1959.
These 9 students, although they didn't realize it then, made huge waves in the civil rights movement. Not only did they show that blacks COULD fight for their rights and WIN, they also brought the idea of segregation to the forefront of people's minds. They showed the nation what extreme and horrible measures some whites would take to protect segregation. No doubt, the events at Central High inspired many lunch counter sit ins and Freedom Rides and inspired blacks to take up the cause of Civil Rights. If these nine children could take on the huge task, they could too.
We should honor these nine student's courage and conviction because it is they, and people like them, who have shaped the way we live today. It is people who, living now, share their same ideals and courage that will shape the way we live in the future. Yes, we have come a long way from Central High in 1957 but we still have a long way to go.
