Fifty years ago, this nation was changed forever by the voices and determination of nine young, courageous high school students.
In 1958, we were a nation of inequalities, a country without a Civil Rights Act — a segregated land where skin color determined not only where you sat on the bus (if you were allowed on at all) but also where you lived, the type of job you were allowed to hold, and the social circles you could move in.
Like many other towns across the nation — including Denver — segregation was prevalent. Little Rock, Ark., was no exception.
It took teenagers from that small town to ignite a spark that would sweep the nation. Those brave teens, dubbed the Little Rock Nine — Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Gloria Ray and Carlotta Walls — changed America with the simple act of going to school.
I watched and learned from their action from my grandparents’ home in the mountains of western Arkansas and from my similarly segregated hometown in northern Louisiana.
Granted, the Nine had to cross barricades, fight off mobs, fend off physical and verbal abuse, survive having their homes bombed, experience their parents losing their jobs, receive a presidentially mandated escort to class by the 101st Airborne, and much more just to go to school, but they still did it.
They succeeded in creating change while being followed by hordes of reporters from around the globe and on national television with the world watching. They did what every citizen of the United States has the legal right to do — receive a public education. By doing so, they opened the doors of opportunity for all children, regardless of sex, race or creed. They ripped the curtain that separates legal possibility from real opportunity.
While it is obvious that some barriers have been lowered since that time, the world hasn’t changed as much as some of us would like.
In the United States today, prejudices still exist. Racism and segregation still exist. Real people are denied opportunities because they are “different.” Read your daily newspaper, turn on your television — it’s there. Yes, we have an African-American and a woman running for president, but the talking heads are doing more discussion of the “female vote” and the “black vote” than the candidates’ qualifications. The noose has reappeared as a symbol of intimidation. The Jena 6 weren’t treated the way that they were treated just because “it happened down South.” And the list goes on and on. At times it is overt, and at other times much more subtle.
So, when you send your children to school this week, take a few moments to reflect on the Little Rock Nine. Remember what they fought for. What it must have been like for their parents, their families and their communities to be denied opportunities and to be the subject of ridicule or scorn just because you were a different “color.” Then, take a few moments to think about those who are the “other” today — our sisters and brothers who are outcast because of their race, creed, gender, age, immigration status, sexual identity or other “difference.” Think about them and remember that they too need to be recognized — and fought for — as fellow human beings.
As we at the Iliff School of Theology prepare for the visit of the Little Rock Nine to Denver as part of our Celebration of Courage, Feb. 24-27, my hope is that we all realize that there is much work left to do, that we celebrate all of our rich diversities, and discover how much we have in common with one another. That we will one day reflect with resonance in our hearts on the message of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the nine, as she looked back at her role in changing America: “We just wanted to widen options for ourselves, and later for our children.”
The Rev. Dr. David Trickett is president of the Iliff School of Theology.
