Little Rock 9

After reading the case study in my textbook about the high schools in Little Rock I’m just completely amazed. I’m amazed at how racist and impassionate people were to kids, because the Little Rock Nine were just that, kids. I obviously knew that there was segregation and racism but every time I read another story about how life was for people living in that time and dealing with those issues, it never fails to amaze me. The Little Rock Nine were just some kids who didn’t want anything more than to get the same education that all the whites were receiving at that time. Even though they were treated horribly, I would have actually wanted to be one of those nine. Those nine kids were brave enough and strong enough to stand their ground and stick it out until the laws were passed for them to actually win the battle. While reading the article, I couldn’t help but imagine myself going through all those things those kids were going through. Trying to walk into a school and being turned down by the National Guard. Then when they finally did make their way into the high school through a side door they were told on and taken back out of the school. Then the president at the time actually sent troops to “maintain order” outside of the school, which was actually to make sure that the blacks didn’t make their way inside the school again. Honestly, I don’t know how those nine children maintained such good attitude throughout all the mean and bad things that happened to them throughout their struggle to getting high schools to be integrated. I probably would’ve been offended that I actually needed armed guards to enter a school, and I would’ve been hurt by the things that the angry mobs of whites who were standing outside of these high schools protested about how I was allowed to attend the school. But in the end I would have wanted to experience and endure those things the way they did because just how they explained at the end of the reading those same people were able to go back to that high school in 1997, and walk through the front door and enjoy the fact that they stood up for what was right, and they were a part of a huge and significant change in history that was made because of many people who were also like them and didn’t agree with the way things were, and wanting to see big changes fast.