Image
Description
Even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, some states were adamantly against the integration of schools. This photograph shows an almost-empty hallway at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September of 1958. The school district chose to close its doors to students rather than integrate its classrooms. The school also was known as the location of the "Little Rock Nine" - where nine African-American students were integrated into the school and were subjected to horrific levels of abuse from classmates, teachers and the local community.
Source-Dependent Questions
- Describe what is not happening in the hallway of this school. What is happening in the hallways of most high schools in September of each year?
- If the school was closed because of safety concerns, infer what kinds of events might have been happening in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the time the nine students who were African American decided to enroll at Central High School, a formerly all-white high school, from Horace Mann High School, an all-black high school.
Citation Information
O'Halloran, Thomas J., Little Rock, Arkansas, September 1958. Courtesy of Library of Congress