Celebrating the 'Little Rock Nine'
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the forced integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The nine had been admitted by court order and the president, determined to enforce federal law -- and backed up by nationalized Army paratroopers -- brought the power of the federal government to bear.
We should all be thanking these courageous trailblazers because they allowed many of us better access academic resources that would have been unavailable otherwise.
While the Supreme Court had ruled separate-but-equal illegal three years earlier in Brown v. Board, the governor of Arkansas was determined to uphold "state's rights" and lined up state police and other authorities to halt the integration. At the end of the day, superior forces -- and the power of right -- triumphed, and the school was integrated.
The integration, and the battle preceding, was one of the iconic moments of the civil rights era.
Fifty years later, the United States continues to fight the battle of color with ongoing developments with the trial of the Jena 6, a situation which has proximate cause in the hangman's noose and the virulent hatred it conveys. Until this nation comes to grips with its ugly history, and continuing stain, of racial inequality, we'll continue to mark solemn anniversaries such as the integration of schools, restaurants, buses...
While one cannot legislate morality, how nice would it be that we could finally celebrate the end of racial animus?
We should all be thanking these courageous trailblazers because they allowed many of us better access academic resources that would have been unavailable otherwise.
While the Supreme Court had ruled separate-but-equal illegal three years earlier in Brown v. Board, the governor of Arkansas was determined to uphold "state's rights" and lined up state police and other authorities to halt the integration. At the end of the day, superior forces -- and the power of right -- triumphed, and the school was integrated.
The integration, and the battle preceding, was one of the iconic moments of the civil rights era.
Fifty years later, the United States continues to fight the battle of color with ongoing developments with the trial of the Jena 6, a situation which has proximate cause in the hangman's noose and the virulent hatred it conveys. Until this nation comes to grips with its ugly history, and continuing stain, of racial inequality, we'll continue to mark solemn anniversaries such as the integration of schools, restaurants, buses...
While one cannot legislate morality, how nice would it be that we could finally celebrate the end of racial animus?
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It's nice to dream...Dr. King spoke of a dream almost 40 years ago. He and his wife would roll over in their graves if they had to bear witness to the rampant disregard for civil rights that persists even today.
Chuuuuurch.
One would think that even the dumbest, most hardline of bigots might realize the error of their ways, but the persisting stupidity of certain segments of our American society never ceases to amaze me.