Little Rock Central High Memory Project:About

From Little Rock Central High Memory Project

The doors of Little Rock Central High School became gates of change on September 4, 1957, when nine African American students came to school for class—for the first time. Turned away by Arkansas Guard soldiers under orders from the Governor, they finally entered safely three weeks later after the President of the United States sent in the 101st Airborne to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown V. Board of Education. And life changed in America.

As dramatic as Central’s story is, however, students coming through those doors in later years have known little about it. This, too, is finally changing.

Central High students today are collecting the personal stories of family and neighbors who lived through the historic events of desegregation, not only at Central but across Arkansas and the rest of America, as well.

Students are creating this website, The Central High Civil Rights Memory Project, to serve as a permanent online resource for students, teachers, historians and the families of those who share their stories.

It is the hope of Central’s students that this website—and these personal narratives—can open a door into history and encourage students today to continue the process of change in race relations and civil rights in their own lives and communities.