in the summer of 1956, segregationist firebrand jim johnson ran against orval faubus. johnson's whole campaign was about maintaining segregation. faubus was a populist, progressive, a liberal, his father was an old mountain socialist, his made dl name was eugene, he was named for eugene v debs, socialist candidate for president way back. faubus had . faubus had no history of racism, didn't even see black people until he was 23 years old. but he was a politician, could see which way the wind was blowing. the stronger jim johnson talked, his racist line, the more faubus got pushed to the right. by the end of the campaign, faubus heard himself saying to , to his own horror, no school system will be forced to spe integrate against its will as long as i'm governor. there he made the promise. in the fall, although jim johnson was soundly defeated, only carried 7 counties out of 75, and that seemed to be to everybody just a clear endorsement of integration, that this was going to proceed, still johnson had a very strong following, and he got an amendment to the constitution, t

said he orval faubus was calling out the national guard. showed up they were under the impression the soldiers would be there to protect them. that soldiers were standing around the school to keep them out. eight of the students met up at a certain point and realized they were not going to make it in. they laughed. one student -- they left. one student arrived to go to school by herself. she and her sisters said the two weeks leading up to the first day selling her own dress -- selling -- sewing her dress. she got off the bus and made her way to the corner of park and 14th street. she approached one of the guardsmen and asked if she could get inside the school. he blocked her entrance and said i have strict orders to only allow white students in. at that point she began one of the longest walk in her life as she made her way down park street. the mob closed in on her. there were hundreds of people that it gathered to protest. they begin to follow her down the street. they were screaming at her, calling her names, saying go back to africa, d

because i think the face of the south audit change however things a one income that easy governor orval faubus wasn't fazed by the law and stead he wanted to push his own agenda and i will not for my big brother and a great against their will the first day of classes at central high began on september fourth one thousand nine hundred fifty seven and on that day he called in the national guard to prevent the nine black students many gene brown or. ernest's a green a film a mother shed gloria ray melba patel oh terence roberts jefferson thomas carlotta walls and elizabeth eckford from entering the school building for the next twenty one days the little rock nine would be threatened with violence and bloodshed stopping them from attending classes so president dwight d. eisenhower decided to intervene on september twenty fifth the world watched as twelve hundred armed soldiers from the one hundred first airborne division of the u.s. army scored at the little rock nine and to little rock central high school the soldiers' remains station outside to keep the peace and to ensure the students had a suc