In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States, in its ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education, unanimously declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
On September 4, 1957, in Little Rock, capital of Arkansas, nine African-American students were expected at the Central High School in the city, until then reserved only for whites. Governor Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent African-American students from entering the institution.
When the students showed up, they were insulted and repulsed by the guard. Violent racist demonstrations of segregation backed by the Little Rock National Guard were raging for about three weeks.
Faced with the illegal decision of Faubus, the federal government was forced to intervene and President Eisenhower then gave the order to remove Governor Faubus' control of the National Guard of the state, by returning it to its barracks. He replaced it with more than a thousand soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who escorted and protected the nine students (soon to be called the "Little Rock Nine") in their new school to enforce the law.
On September 24, under escort, 7 of the 9 African-American students entered their room. Some white students came out, refusing to sit next to them. Constantly harassed, the nine students were each assigned a member of the 101st as a bodyguard.
Lynchings between African-Americans and whites took place in front of the high school, despite the presence of the police.
On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court ordered the immediate integration of African-American students into Little Rock schools. Local authorities preferred to close schools rather than to obey. Federal courts ordered their reopening, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.
