gloria ray is a senior at illinois institute of technology.s year she receives her degree in chemistry. terrence is studying for his degree in business administration at the city college of los angeles. melba as we guessed married early. she wasn't in college over a year before she became a housewife. and me, this spring i take an examine to become a certified public account. i'm supposed to be qualified to keep track of profits and losses. i'm not sure i know enough yet to say what all this adds up to. i haven't counted all the victories since the first day we went to school here. but i know there's been at least nine. in little rock, there's a slow bridge taking shape over the intolerance and ignorance. it's a bridge that's going to be built by us and by our children. before it's finish we'll have our problems. but if little rock taught nothing more it taught all americans that problems can make us better. much better. >>> american history tv is in prime time all week. right here on c-span 3. next time, our look at the 1957 forced desegregat

we were terrence, thelma, elizabeth, ernest greene, carlotta, and gloria ray.re going to school again. obviously, in this town of 100,000, there were many who did not like what was happening. as we looked at the soldiers, we knew there must the millions of others who thought we represented something important. ♪ when the doors closed behind us that day, it was both an and and -- an end, and a beginning. from that moment on, we would be watched not only by those who look at us as strangers but by those who wondered if we would live up to our new opportunity. i remember standing there wondering how history would judge us. [bells] it has been seven years since that first day. what has happened? where have we gone? what have we done? >> i was the oldest of the nine and perhaps the least serious. i came here to southern illinois university after graduation. at first, i thought i wanted to be a nurse but i was too outgoing for that. now i know i want to work in a newspaper and be a journalist and to write. more than anything else in the world, i want to write. this y

who we want to hear from is gloria ray karlmark and i want her to tell us about her experiences in the lost year and the crisis year and whatever else you would like to say. [applause] i am going to try to tell you my story sitting, it is the first time i have done that in front of a large audience. i usually stand. or sit behind a big table and cry. and i am honored to aboute to speak to you the year, 1957 and 1958 and what happened to me and the lost year. i began that year, 1957, full of excitement. maybe i will stand up. i was in dunbar junior high 1957 and the spring of that is when the piece of paper "s passed around and it said, who wants to go to little rock central high school in the fall? " if you want to go, put your name, sign the paper. the paper was passed around and when it came to me i wrote my name and passed it on. exciting, it was like all the opportunities that had been hidden from us, because i never been in central high school but i heard that it was a great school and i knew the students from that school were in scholarships and had done great things. that was th

so, i became very serious and realized, well, gloria ray is gone. there's a principal standing here. what kind of future rests for me now, when white girls walked past and get my dreams but i can't. i'm not allowed to. that was the rest of 1957 for me. it was to do everything in my power to make it possible for me to reach my dream and for all others like me with the same rights to also be able to reach their dreams. it was something that needed to be done, that hadn't been done, something that with a little maturity and faith, i could make a contribution towards getting done. something without which for my young life, there would be no future. i could not honestly imagine living, conscious of the fact i was considered a lesser person than the next person, just because of the way i looked. after that came three long weeks just waiting. but the mission and opportunity to go to school. totally new for me. every year, the first day of school, you went to school, you saw the new kids and what not. i met some wonderful kids that are still in my life. tha

melba, tilo beales, elizabeth ecford, gloria ray, carlata, dr. jean brown tricky and thelma mothershed wear. i wanted to tell you how much i enjoyed our visit before the ceremony today. we are gathered here today so that our state and nation will never forget the curage, fortitude and persistence you s showed the world 60 years ago. the events of that fall day changed the path of a nation. yes, the bravery of youth inspired hope for all whose dreams have been crushed by an unfair system. a system that failed to change with deliberate speed. your quiet determination and your stubborn refusal to abandoned your dreams not only forced action but set an example that will last into the ages. whether you witnessed the events in person. or like me you studied and reflected on that moment in history from distance, we are all equally challenged, motivated and grateful for those who said we can do it. because it is right and because it is just. in 1957, of course, we know what the makeup of central high student body was. because of you, the student body of

[applause] >> gloria ray -- [applause] gloria: i never thought i would stand here.an't say that i feel comfortable being here, but i am here and it feels pretty good. [applause] people ask us or especially me, a lot about the first central high school. my daughter reminded me the other day of another thing that she knew about me. she suggested i talk to you today about the last day of school because no one ever asks , about that. [laughter] gloria: you know what kind of a year we had. they had announced yearbooks and i remember getting mine and it presented a situation for me quite different from the others. i had my book and there i was now this 15-year-old little girl girl. who was going to sign my book, who would i go up to and asked to sign a book? i stood there for a while with my book open, and then the girl that i strange to note that came out and signed my book. i stood there a while with my book open, and then becky, another girl i had secretly changed notes with another the class, she came up and signed my book. i had one signature in my book. she wrote "i

gloria ray car mark. carlotta walls la near. dr. terrence roberts. minnijean brown. thelma mothershed ware. and join us in remembering the late jefferson thomas. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, the little rock nine. [ cheers and applause ] >>> please welcome to the podium our emsy for the day, educational and community leader and the first african-american to attend little rock central high school for 10th, 11th and 12th grads before graduating in 1962, dr. sib ill jordan hampton. [ applause ] >>> please be seated. thank you. good morning. welcome to this historic day. thank you to each of you who are here today. some have traveled from down the block and others have come from around the country and overseas. as i look out into this crowd, i see many familiar faces, many longtime friends. i also see many new faces. no matter how far you traveled to be here, or how many people in this room you know, please know we are honor to have you here without you here in this audience, the event would not be complete. you are a key component of this commemoration ceremony. no

thelma, minnijean brown, tricky, jefferson, gloria ray, karlmark, and terrance roberts.zon. and regardless of where they graduated from school, the victory was still theirs. as i crossed that stage and accepted that diploma for the next 800, 8,000, 8 million that will follow, i've learned that in the 60 years since central, there are different paths in life one can take. there are worn paths. there are faint paths there are even random paths that don't follow anything. know that these paths were worn in not by one person, not by nine people, but by generations of people following scattered foot press left by someone else. but also know that the errant foot press follow no path at all may intrigue someone else to follow a path not yet forged. no, it won't be easy, and it wouldn't happen overnight. but as my sister has told me as many follow, a path will wear into a permanent reminder of someone else's initial steps. to the tigers, black and gold, god bless each of you. [ applause ] >> gloria ray karlmark. >> i never thought i would stand here. i can't really say i feel co

terrence roberts, carlotta walls lanier, jefferson thomas and gloria ray. when called out the national guard he was immediately in violation of a federal court order. because of the earlier lawsuit filed by my father, black plaintiffs were able to go right back to court to seek enforcement authority of the federal government. it was erupting crisis in the fall that got mr. marshall more directly involved in the place. and even though president eisenhower reportedly made private statements he disagreed with brown, he never publicly vilified the courts. he understood his role as president and how our system of government works. made the decision to call out federal troops to enforce the court and the constitutional rights of the nine to attend little rock central high school. there were many significant things what the little rock nine did to contribute to the advancement of civil rights in america and the world. because of their extraordinary courage caught on photographs and moving film, actions of the angry crowd towards the little rock nine, the children,