Ernest Green
"My first day inside Central High was very smooth, smoother than I expected. Outside was the main
cause. If it wasn't for the people outside, we would have finished the day. But I don't intend to quit. We'll
try again. It's still my school, and I'm entitled to it."
"My first day inside Central High was very smooth, smoother than I expected. Outside was the main
cause. If it wasn't for the people outside, we would have finished the day. But I don't intend to quit. We'll
try again. It's still my school, and I'm entitled to it."
Elizabeth Eckford
"Somewhere along the line, [staying at Central High] became an obligation. I realized that what we were doing was not for ourselves."
"Somewhere along the line, [staying at Central High] became an obligation. I realized that what we were doing was not for ourselves."
Jefferson Thomas
"I had no reason to think the quiet, peaceful place where I grew up could change so drastically."
"I had no reason to think the quiet, peaceful place where I grew up could change so drastically."
Terrence Roberts
“I want us to think seriously about living in a society where some people are privileged but others are not, and we take it as a matter of course that this is the way it is.”
“I want us to think seriously about living in a society where some people are privileged but others are not, and we take it as a matter of course that this is the way it is.”
Carlotta Walls LaNier
"I would do it again because of the good that came out of it. When I speak to classes, I let them know that if we had not be successful, I don't think that white sudents would be sitting with students of color."
"I would do it again because of the good that came out of it. When I speak to classes, I let them know that if we had not be successful, I don't think that white sudents would be sitting with students of color."
Minnijean Brown
"I just can't take everything they throw at me without fighting back. I don't think people realize what
goes on at Central. You just wouldn't believe it. They throw rocks, they spill ink on your clothes, they call
you 'nigger,' they just keep bothering you every five minutes. The white students hate me. Why do they
hate me so much?"
"I just can't take everything they throw at me without fighting back. I don't think people realize what
goes on at Central. You just wouldn't believe it. They throw rocks, they spill ink on your clothes, they call
you 'nigger,' they just keep bothering you every five minutes. The white students hate me. Why do they
hate me so much?"
Gloria Ray Karlmark
"Even when the white men rioted and the soldiers pushed me back, I would never stop trying and I was a big influence of the desegregation of school."
"Even when the white men rioted and the soldiers pushed me back, I would never stop trying and I was a big influence of the desegregation of school."
Melba Pattillo Beals
"The humiliating expectations and tradition of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self-esteem each day."
"The humiliating expectations and tradition of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self-esteem each day."