Little Rock Central High School Cultural Landscape

Front view of the Central High School entrance in Little Rock, Arkansas

NPS Photo/B. Schwieger

Introduction

On September 25, 1957, public attention focused on nine African American students -- the “Little Rock Nine” -- as they again attempted to attend their first full day at Little Rock Central High School. Federal troops escorted the Little Rock Nine into the school, which was surrounded by a mob of white segregationists. Students Minnijean Brown, Terrence Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls effectively desegregated the historically white high school through their attendance that year. Although Central closed following the conflict over desegregation, it reopened in 1959 and continues to operate today. It is the only operating high school listed as a National Historic Site.

Brochure for Little Rock High School with an enlargement of the plan to show the landscape design.

Central High Museum, Inc. / NPS (in Central High School NHS Cultural Landscape Report)

In 1977, Little Rock Central High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognized for its significance in the Civil Rights Movement and its Neo-Gothic Revival and Art Deco style architecture. Little Rock Central High School was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982, at it became a National Historic Site in 1998.

Landscape Description

The site occupies over 28 acres in an urban area of Little Rock, Arkansas, extending to Jones Street to the west, Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive to the north, 16th Street to the south, and Park Street to the east. It includes Quigley Stadium, playing fields, a playground, parking lots, a sunken plaza, a rear seating plaza, a plaza between the school and the gym, Campus Inn, Tiger field house, Matthews Library, Mobil Gas Station, and two vacant lots on the corners of 14th and Park Streets, as well as the roads and sidewalks surrounding the site.

The American Institute of Architects named the Little Rock Central High School “America’s Most Beautiful High School” upon its completion in 1927. The main structure consists of a central portion and four wings, composed of steel framing and bricks. Double stairs lead up to the second floor main entry. At the entry, four Greek muse statues representing Ambition, Personality, Opportunity, and Preparation adorn the façade pilasters. Architects George R. Mann, Eugene John Stern, John Parks Almand, George H. Wittenberg, and Lawson L. Delony designed the structure in Neo-Gothic Revival style. The landscape architect, John Highberger, chose a more minimalist style for the grounds. The non-extant plaza design included a sunken garden, with a reflecting pool and fountain. Curvilinear paths, large oak trees, and evergreen shrubs also define the space. In 2001, a commemorative garden was added on site grounds to honor the Little Rock Nine and the school’s legacy in public education.

Overhead view of Central High School landscape, including the individual homes of the streetscape, reflecting pool, trees and turf, entrance staircase, and architectural features.

NPS

Historic Use

Despite the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection clause, suppression of black Americans’ civil liberties continued well into the 20th century. The Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) sustained black disenfranchisement by upholding the “separate but equal” doctrine. The decision also contributed to the “Jim Crow” laws, most prevalent in the southern states, which extended the separation of facilities to many areas of public life. The landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson decision decreeing school segregation unconstitutional. Brown II further promoted integration by mandating that school districts’ desegregation plans should be implemented “with all deliberate speed.” White segregationists, especially in the upper southern and border states, perceived mandatory integration as a federal misuse of power. They employed the interposition doctrine to justify resistance to the decision. The resistance to school integration occurred through a variety of means.

The Little Rock school board resisted desegregation by attempting to delay black student admission to Little Rock Central High School until construction ceased on Hall High School. Administrators intended for Hall High School to serve the wealthy white population to the west who previously attended Central. Although school board members opposed integration, they complied with the Federal Constitutional requirements and provided an integration plan that consist of three phases in 1954. Despite the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) claim that the plan could take up to eleven years, which contradicted the “deliberate speed” requirement, the federal courts approved the plan.

In addition to delaying integration, the school board required a strict application process to limit the number of African American students who qualified for admission. Of the 80 who showed interest, only nine were ultimately admitted for the 1957 school year. The Arkansas NAACP helped recruit and prepare those nine students to attend Little Rock Central High School for the 1957 school year. Daisy Gatson Bates, president of the Arkansas NAACP, played a pivotal role in advocating for these students. For her civil rights activism, 14th Street to the north of Central High School was renamed Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.

Arkansas National Guard soldiers barred the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High School on September 4, 1957.

Image in NPGallery

In 1957, tensions rose as the beginning of the school year approached. Propaganda efforts by the Capitol Citizens’ Council and other groups worked to convince the public of the inevitability of violence resulting from desegregation. They urged the governor, Orval Faubus, to intervene to stop desegregation. Governor Faubus, reluctant to either force integration or violate federal law, requested the assistance of President Eisenhower’s administration. After the administration declined his request, Governor Faubus decided to dispatch the National Guard and state police to Central on September 2. He claimed that he only acted to prevent violence and not to oppose integration.

Regardless, on September 4, 1957, the Little Rock Nine attempted to enter the school and were turned away by the guardsmen. Based on accounts from the students (Carlotta, Melba, Elizabeth, and Terrence), they all showed up: Carlotta and six others at 13th and Park, and Liz, Terrence, and Melba arrived separately. Governor Faubus’s actions directly violated the Federal District Court order. Federal Judge Ronald Davies responded by initiating legal action against the governor and ordering that city police replace the National Guard. On September 23, 1957 the Little Rock Nine again attempted to start school under the protection of the ill-prepared city police. They attended school for half a day before a large mob of white protestors outside caused the school and city administrators to remove them, concerned with the threat to their safety. By this time, the events in Little Rock had garnered significant national attention. Some of the country’s first live television broadcasts featured the National Guard preventing the students from attending school. Reporters called in updates from the nearby Mobil gas station—one of the few businesses in the neighborhood that had a pay phone.

Reporters made calls from a payphone at the nearby Magnolia Mobil Gas Station during the Little Rock crisis.

NPS Photo/B. Schwieger

Mayor Mann contacted the Eisenhower administration for assistance. This time, Eisenhower responded by issuing Executive Order 10730, which federalized the National Guard and required them, along with Army soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, to uphold the federal district court order. Upon arrival, the troops used the playing fields behind the school as a camp site and helicopter landing area. They located command posts at Quigley Stadium and patrolled surrounding 16th, 14th, Park, and Jones Streets.

The Little Rock Nine arrived to attend their first full day of classes on September 25, 1957.

Image in NPGallery

The Little Rock Nine completed their first school day on September 25, 1957. Despite demonstrated federal commitment to enforce integration policy and increasing national attention, resistance to integration continued. The black students experienced adversity throughout the school year. One was expelled for her response to physical and verbal abuse. Four white students were expelled and over 100 suspended for racially-motivated misconduct. Ernest Green, the sole senior student among the group of nine, graduated from Little Rock Central High School before in 1958. Martin Luther King Jr. attended his graduation.

As a result of continued resistance to integration and federal authority, Central closed for a year. In June of 1958, community members voted in favor of the Little Rock school board's delay of the integration order, a decision which was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. Governor Faubus immediately responded by signing 14 bills into law closing all of Little Rock’s high schools. Little Rock moderates and community leaders mobilized to gain support in reopening and desegregating the schools. The moderates fought the segregationists to win a majority in the forced election for the school board seats. In June of 1959, the new members announced the schools would reopen in alignment with the federal courts’ orders. Little Rock public high schools reopened on August 12, 1959.

Today, Little Rock Central High School serves a diverse and accomplished student body. The landscape appears quite similar to how it did during its period of significance with few changes to its features or integrity. Visitors can reserve guided tours to experience the setting of a prominent struggle for equality during the Civil Rights Movement.

Left image
Central High School, ca. 1957-1958.
Credit: Central High Museum, Inc., COLL.B.12.I.257, no date, National Park Service, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Right image
Many features from the historic period still exist. However, the utility poles that once lined S. Park Street are gone.
Credit: NPS Central High School Cultural Landscape Report (2007)

Quick Facts

• Cultural Landscape Type: Historic Site
• National Historic Landmark
• National Register Significance Criteria: A, C
• Period of Significance: 1954-1959

Landscape Links

• National Register of Historic Places: Little Rock Central High School
• NARA Holdings Related to the Desegregation of Central High School
• More about Cultural Landscapes