Wanderers in Wonder

Sixty-Five years ago nine black children in Arkansas tried to get the education they deserved by enrolling at Central High. The Supreme Court had declared school systems segregated ‘by law’ to be unconstitutional three years earlier in their Brown vs. the Board of Education decision. Many southern communities did not embrace the decision.

We are in Little Rock at the moment..

The first picture is from Little Rock, Arkansas – 1957. The young Black girl is Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine. The White girl behind her is Hazel Bryan Massery. Elizabeth was trying to exercise her right as an American citizen to get an education. Hazel and the other white Americans of Little Rock were not going to allow this Black girl into “their” school, Central High. 

Elizabeth got separated from the other members of the Little Rock Nine and was subjected to physical intimidation and verbal assault while the authorities stood back and watched. Parents joined their children in the assault on Elizabeth. The state National Guard, under orders from Governor Orval Faubus to stop the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High in direct defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court, blocked Elizabeth’s path to the school and safety. 

President Eisenhower, never a big supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, was so moved by these pictures and the events surrounding the Little Rock Nine that he nationalized the Arkansas State National Guard. The Guard was then no longer under the Governor’s control. IKE ordered them to their barracks and sent in the 101^st Airborne to guarantee the Little Rock Nine would get the education they deserved in a safe environment. 

The second picture…First Lady Michelle Obama at Fort Lewis College (2012)

My wife and I were able to attend the First Lady’s appearance at Fort Lewis College. As a tenured professor and Department Chair at The Fort, my wife was able to secure VIP tickets. The day ended with such optimism. Had we, as a nation, finally turned the corner on our racist past? Sadly, the events of the past few years have thrown a damper on my optimism.

Oh, and Seventy-Five years ago today, Jackie Robinson broke the ‘color-line’, established by team owners in the early 20th Century, in Major League Baseball.

Peace…Wanderers in Wonder.