The Battle of Central High School, The Battle of Central High School, Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, Arkansas19571957

How did some whites oppose the desegregation of schools?

Reaction to 1954 Supreme Court Decision

• Although the Supreme Court had declared segregation in schools unconstitutional (Brown v. Board), no time frame was set for integration to take place.

• NAACP pushed the issue along in the South, taking schools to court if they did not comply.

• Many communities were extremely hostile to the decision which resulted in a white backlash in the South.

• Groups such as White Citizens’ Councils and the KKK were determined to break the progress of desegregation.

Southern Manifesto

• 1956 almost all Southern Congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto which:• Claimed the Federal Government had no authority to

determine what went on in schools – that was a decision for State governments

• Promised to protect the ‘Southern way of life’• Promised ‘massive resistance’ to desegregation

• At Central High, Little Rock in Arkansas, this white resistance came to a climax.

Hazel Massery hurls abuse at Elizabeth Eckford, September 1957

Today both women are friends.