Central High 50th Anniversary of Desegregation Causes Tension

Fifty years ago, Little Rock , Arkansas was a city divided by race. Court ordered desegration would be enforced at Central High School by United States troops under the authority of President Dwight Eisenhower. The flagship school would be the center of controversy for a full year as nine black students attended the all-white school for the first time.

Although time tends to heal old wounds, it doesn't erase them completly. From the first days of the planning of the commemoration, there has been a battle to control the message of the historic event. Is the commemoration a celebration of how far race relations have come in fifty years, or a reminder of how far they have yet to progress.

Ironically, thanks to federal law, and white "flight", the Little Rock public schools are today predominantly populated by black students. The school system is in crisis with a battling school board, low test scores, and local pressure to place more black faces in positions of authority in the school district. Many black leaders are concerned that turning the Central High anniversary into a celebration will mask the city's many racial problems.

In response, a counter commemoration will be held the week before the official event. The week long observance is titled: 50 Years of Crisis - A Black Reality Check. Sponsors include local churches and ministers, Black community developers and many other politically active groups.

The counter-comemmoration scheduled for Sept. 16 - 23 will include events that will discuss memories of that time period, but also focus on the state of the black population in central Arkansas today. One of the notable goals of the black "reality check" will be the development of a "50 year plan" for the future of black Little Rock.

Today, just like 50 years ago, there is a racial tug-of-war over Central High School. Two different perceptions of the current status and future of black students seem just as distant from each other today as they were fifty years ago.

Reality Check Highlights

Sept. 16th - "Central's Forgotten Heroes" - Hover United Methodist Church
Sept. 17th - "Methodists in the Central High Crisis", Bullock Temple CME Church
Sept. 18th - "Baptists in the '57 crisis" - Mount Pleasant Baptist Church
Sept. 21 - "Black Progress: Next 50 Years - Where From Here"

For more information call: Rev. William Robinson at 501-663-7223.