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Little Rock Central High School caused controversy throughout the country when the Little Rock Nine, the nine African American students first involved in the desegregation of the school, attempted to enter its doors. On Sept. 4, 1957, the students were turned away by the Arkansas National Guard.
The students returned 21 days later via escort from members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division at the order of President Eisenhower.
Eight of the nine students remained for the entire school year, and the eldest of them, Ernest Green, became the first black student to graduate from Central High School.
– Ann Claire Johnson, Ghidotti Communications