50 Years Since Little Rock Integration

Eisenhower was shocked at the outbreak of violence.

"Cruel mob force had frustrated the execution of an order of a United States court, and the governor of the state was sitting by, refusing to lift a finger to support the local authorities," Eisenhower later wrote, according to David A. Nichols, author of "A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution."

Eisenhower signed a proclamation approving the use of federal troops to enforce U.S. District Judge Ronald Davies' desegregation order and the students entered Central High under armed escort Sept. 25, 1957.

"That was a turning point in history because it said that, when push comes to shove, two of the three branches of American government will respond on behalf of integration as part of the fundamental American heritage," said historian Taylor Branch, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of "Parting the Waters" and other books about the civil rights movement. "It said that segregation is not compatible with American ideals."

Even with the 101st Army Airborne escorts, however, the harassment continued, though some students and teachers did make efforts to reach out to them. LaNier said a chemistry teacher flat out told her classmates he didn't want black students in his class. The school later dismissed the teacher, LaNier said.

The ride to school often served as a group refuge, Beals recalled at a news conference Sunday. Sometimes, the students would just sit in silence, whether in a family member's car or an Army jeep, waiting for the torment and their classmates to turn their backs on them.

"It was a time of soul mending," Beals said. "What whispers and inklings of promise we got came from each other."

Green, the first black person to graduate from Central, said he had studied the history of other black trailblazers at the time but didn't think he would join their ranks.

"We saw ourselves as groundbreakers in breaking tradition," said Green, who served as an assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. "But I don't see that any of us thought we would be part of the civil rights legacy."

Despite the torment and legal battle, eight of the nine black students completed the school year. Trickey said she was expelled when school officials found her at fault in a run-in with girls she called "white trash."

The following school year, Faubus closed the schools in Little Rock. He was re-elected governor the next month.

During the "lost year" of the closed schools, some students studied their textbooks at home while others for a time took classes by television. Schools surrounding Pulaski County were jammed with transfer students, and Memphis, Tenn., announced that fall that it couldn't take any more transfers from Little Rock.

The schools reopened in 1959, partly because of an effort by white businessmen who realized that the crisis was hurting their community and the economy.

"Basically, what they were interested in was getting Little Rock off the front pages and salvaging her image. Again, they weren't interested in justice or racial change," said Elizabeth Jacoway, author of "Turn Away Thy Son," a history of Central's desegregation.

Trickey and the other nine said they're frustrated with the school system nationally, not just in Arkansas, that they see as still widely segregated.

"We're still living segregated lives based on culture and language," said Trickey, who now works as a gender and social justice advocate. "Here we are in 2007 and we're still playing the same game."

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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this report.