Little Rock (1957)
Background and Blossom Plan
- After the 1954 Brown v. Board ruling, Little Rock’s School Board agreed to comply but adopted the “Blossom Plan” for gradual, token integration, beginning with high schools in 1957.
- African American enrollment was limited to a small number, delaying full integration due to white opposition and segregated housing patterns.
The Blossom Plan was Little Rock’s gradual integration strategy, allowing a small, carefully chosen number of Black students into white schools, aiming to minimize racial mixing through token, symbolic enrollment.
White Resistance and the Little Rock Nine
- Local white opposition grew strong with groups like the Capital Citizens Council and the Mothers League of Central High School.
- These groups used racial fears and propaganda to rally resistance, claiming integration threatened white children’s health and promoted miscegenation.
- In 1957, nine Black students were chosen to integrate Central High School. They became known as the Little Rock Nine.
- Governor Orval Faubus opposed integration and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block their entry, creating a constitutional crisis over federal versus state authority.
Federal Intervention
- Federal Judge Ronald Davies ordered the Guard removed.
- When the Little Rock Nine first attempted to enter, they faced violent mobs of white protestors.
- The students were forced to withdraw for safety, as police could not control the crowds.
