Member of the 'Little Rock Nine' Terrence Roberts, Gives Speech on Racial Tensions

Much in the world and the US has changed since the day 50 years ago when Terrence Roberts and eight other black youths initiated the Little Rock Crisis by attending Little Rock's Central High School after the Supreme Court ordered desegregation in public schools.

It's easier for blacks today to vote, become educated and buy homes, said Roberts, who will spoke today at Cal State San Bernardino about his experiences in Arkansas.

But at the same time, he said, little has changed. Schools today generally are still not diverse, and there's still animosity among people of different racial groups.

"We have learned, it seems, very little, if you look at schools and their racial makeup," Roberts said.

In 1957, then Gov. Orval Faubus of Arkansas defied court orders for desegregation and called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the "Little Rock Nine," from attending Central High School in Little Rock.

President Eisenhower subsequently summoned Governor Faubus to his vacation home. Returning from the meeting, Gov. Faubus dismissed the troops and left the teenagers to fend for themselves against a white mob, according to the National Register of Historic Places.

"The one thing that stands out was that there was violent opposition to the nine of us showing up in school," Roberts said. "And I point that out because I did not expect the fierce nature of the confrontation."

President Eisenhower, in an effort to quell the violence and force integration, federalized the Arkansas National Guard, taking them out of Govern Faubus' control. Eisenhower then deployed federal troops to the school so Roberts and his fellow black classmates could attend classes on Central High School's's campus.

The Little Rock Nine were selected based upon their grades and school attendance records. Terrance Roberts was a 15 year old eleventh grader when he joined the eight other students and became a part of the Little Rock Nine selected to go to the segregated public high school in Little Rock. He is now co-chairperson of the Master's in Psychology Program at Antioch University. Terrence Roberts graduate of California State University at Los Angeles (BA), and UCLA (MSW), obtained his Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.

A much sought after speaker, Dr. Roberts also heads a management consultant group dedicated to improving human relations in the workplace. Since 1998 he has been the official desegregation consultant for the Little Rock, Arkansas School District, and provides similar services to school districts around the nation.

References
Staff (2007) Dr. Terrence Roberts. The Little Rock Nine Foundation. Retrieved from www.littlerock9.com/troberts.html
Hsu, C. (2007, February 15). One of the 'Little Rock Nine' to speak on racial tensions. Daily Bulletin.com. Retrieved from http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_5230575
(2007) Terrence Roberts. Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrence_Roberts
Staff (1997) Central High 40 years later. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/central/index.html