American History

Desegregation crisis that took place at Central High School in 1957 was perhaps one of the major developments in civil rights movements in the state of Arkansas. This is an event that took place in Little Rock, Pulaski County and is taken as one major event for the struggle of African-Americans as they fought for equality and freedom. African-Americans in Arkansas were disfranchised politically and largely segregated in many areas of their lives.

Before the aforementioned event, there were major race riots in different areas of the state. Race riots had been experienced in Boone County in 1905 and 1909, Hempstead County in 1883 and in Phillips County in 1919. Around 226 African-Americans were lynched between the years 1882 and 1968. Since African-Americans had inadequate power to resist these situations, they followed Booker T. Washington who was the national African-American leader at the time. Under his leadership, they formed exclusively African-American organizations, businesses and associations to sustain themselves.

Scipio Africanus Jones, a lawyer in Little Rock spearheaded a boycott in 1903. His major case was in 1919 when as an employee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), he won a custodial for convicted twelve African-American prisoners instead of a death sentence (Kirk, 2009). John Carter was lynched in 1927 and this was followed by parading of his mutilated body by almost 1,000 people on the streets of Little Rock. This created the need for African-Americans empowerment in the political field.

Black activism increased and it was mainly demonstrated in Little Rock. Eight African-American police officers were appointed after the 1942 Arkansas State Press campaign. But the killing of Thomas B. Foster, a black sergeant caused another black outrage. In 1945, a case to equalize white and black teachers salaries in Little Rock was another major development. This shows that major developments that took place at Little Rock were the most important in the struggle for the civil Rights not only in Arkansas but also in United States of America.