HBO~LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL: 50 YEARS LATER

[Kurtz]

I watched this last night 'n it was most informative from various views:

The wave of desegregation that transformed the South during the 1960s began in Little Rock in September 1957. After Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus defied the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling and ordered the National Guard to prevent nine black teenagers from entering Central High School, President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded by sending troops from the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army to protect the students as they entered the building.

But what is the legacy of the Civil Rights struggle for equal education today? To mark the 50th anniversary of the forced integration of Central High School, Little Rock natives Brent and Craig Renaud provide a candid look at the lives of contemporary Central High students in the documentary LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL: 50 YEARS LATER.

Brent and Craig Renaud followed the lives of contemporary Central High students, teachers and administration, as well as community leaders, over the course of a year for this intimate documentary, visiting classes, school meetings and assemblies, teenagers' homes and community events. Sharing the stories of both black and white students, the special reveals the opportunities and challenges facing them in and out of the classroom.

LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL: 50 YEARS LATER (http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/littlerockcentral/synopsis.html)

If you're interested, it's on 2 more times: Schedule (http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=627843)

[Kurtz]

The Visitor Center Dedication was just last month (September 24, 2007).

A half-century after nine courageous black teenagers attempted to enter the previously all white Central High School, nearly 2,000 visitors, many of them former Central High School students themselves, attended the dedication of Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site’s new visitor center.

Each member of the Little Rock Nine was escorted onstage by a current member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

Remarks featured an impassioned keynote tribute to the Little Rock Nine by U.S. Representative John Lewis, a former Freedom Rider and member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and Elizabeth Eckford gave an equally expressive accounting of her experiences that fateful year at Central High School. Members of the Arkansas National Guard served as color guard for the dedication; the SNCC Freedom Singers performed a stirring a capella rendition of the National Anthem; and both the Freedom Singers and Lawrence Hamilton and Rennaissance vocalized a selection of songs representative of the civil rights movement throughout the program.

Other honored guests and participants included Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, U.S. Representative Vic Snyder, and National Park Service Director Mary Bomar. World renowned poet, author, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni received perhaps the most enthusiastic response of the day following her powerful reading. Central High School Student Body President Cyrus Bahrassa spoke eloquently to the responsibility of the current and future classes of Central High School to carry on the legacy of the Little Rock Nine. The program concluded with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by the Little Rock Nine.

Did You Know?
The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site visitor center is located in a restored service station across the street from the high school. Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site



Visitor Center Dedication (http://www.nps.gov/chsc/parknews/visitor-center-dedication.htm)

And this sounds great: Ranger-Led Bicycle Tours (http://www.nps.gov/chsc/)
Join park rangers for a bicycle tour of sites related to the 1957 Crisis at Central High School.

[Kurtz]

Here's a shot of the Little Rock Nine statue of the kids that opened
the door for so many other black children to equal opportunity.

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/Kurtz_06/ALittleRockstatue-9.jpg

Dare I start babblin' about
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka? :lol