The Little Rock Nine
Started September 20, 1957
This event began when nine African Americans integrated into Central High School in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Only eight of them graduated in May of 1958. One of the young girls was expelled in February for responding to a racial slur and dumping food on top of two white boys. The National Guard troops refused to escort the students into the school. Because of racial issues at the time and the National Guard refusing to protect the African American students, President Eisenhower was forced to dispatch paratroopers to escort the students to school. Each student had their own personal paratooper to escort them around school and help keep them safe from the other students. The nine students names are as follows, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls.