September 23, 2007
When "6" Was "9"
You may have been reading and hearing a lot lately about the "Jena 6." But this marks an important anniversary of another numbered group of youths known as the Little Rock 9. An NPR feature recaps events from 50 years ago:
Just over 50 years ago, a rock shattered the picture window of a light-brick house in Little Rock, Ark. A note was tied to it that read: "Stone this time. Dynamite next." The house belonged to Daisy and L.C. Bates. The couple led efforts to end segregation in Arkansas — on buses, in libraries and in the public schools. On Monday, the nation will mark 50 years since black students integrated Central High School in Little Rock...
The rest of the feature tells the story of a lesser known figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Daisy Bates. The story of Mrs. Bates and her involvement with the Little Rock Nine reveals complexities. It is a more complete telling of the tale than what is usually told, but even this rich narrative hides other equally rich ones--a fact that NPR touches on only briefly.
For more on the historic event and how it is being retold, see the Central High School, Little Rock, AK commemorative web page. The school's 50th Anniversary Commission states its mission to "provide leadership for the community's commemoration of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School by reflecting on the past, examining the present, and promoting future reconciliation and growth." Also, there is a Foundation dedicated to "promote the ideals of justice and equality of opportunity for all" and based on the "proposition that racist ideology will not dictate educational policies and practices in the twenty-fist century."
Finally, I love when I hear stories like this one from Diverse Issues in Higher Education, in which we find ways to re-route the transatlantic slave journey to introduce Africans to African American current events and history, and African Americans to African nows and thens:
Just a day into a tour of civil rights landmarks in the South, Nadia Samie says she already sees parallels between the Jim Crow era and the apartheid period in her country, South Africa. Samie, a student at the University of Cape Town, is among 19 college students from Africa who embarked Friday on a tour of many of the landmarks of the civil rights struggle.“The practices were similar in the ways black people were segregated and just the way black people were treated,” Samie said. “It’s become even more apparent how similar the fights were between the people on both continents.”
...The tour to landmarks in Memphis, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; Atlanta and Greensboro, N.C. was arranged through an international exchange program at the University of Arkansas’ Spring International Language Center. The center received a grant from the U.S. State Department and participants in the program have been taking classes over the past month on civil rights and social justice, said program coordinator Gabrielle Idlet.
...Oscar Kituyi, 23, who is studying mathematics and business in Nairobi, said he knew nothing about Central High School. “When I came here, the first introduction of the whole issue of civil rights was that Central High was an epic scenario in this whole struggle,” he said.Selaelo Modiba, another student in South Africa, said learning about U.S. civil rights history has opened her eyes to the fact the U.S. is still struggling with race relations. “I used to think of America as a completely perfect world,” Modiba said. “...I can see that there’s still a lot to be done"...
Posted by perry032 at September 23, 2007 10:34 PM