More than a half-century after federal troops escorted nine black students into an all-white school, efforts to desegregate the classrooms of the southern city of Little Rock, Ark., are at another turning point.
The state wants to end its long-running payments for desegregation programs, which date back to the era when schools were segregated by law in the south. But three school districts that receive the money say they need it to continue key programs. And a federal judge has accused the schools of delaying desegregation so they can keep receiving an annual infusion of $70 million.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments Monday from both sides. The judges are expected to decide eventually whether Arkansas still has to make the payments and whether two of the districts should remain under court supervision.
The schools, which serve about 50,000 students, have come a long way since 1957, when the governor and hundreds of protesters famously tried to stop the nine black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, from entering Central High School. But thousands of white and black children still have to be bused to different neighborhoods every day under one of America's largest remaining court-ordered desegregation systems.
Showing posts with label LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Friday, November 7, 2008
NEVER IN MY LIFETIME
Never in my lifetime would I have thought that a Black man would be the President of the United States of America. Being from the South, Little Rock, Arkansas, I lived through the sixties. I remember having to ride on the back of the bus, going to the movies in the balcony through a separate entrance, and not being able to sit on a stool at Woolworth's.
When Governor Orval Faubus closed the schools in Arkansas, I missed a year of school. I operated an elevator in the Marion Hotel and washed dishes in a restaurant. Blacks had to come to the back and order food or sit at a table in the kitchen to eat.
The park we had to go to was on the outskirts of town, called Gilliam Park. It was way down in the woods. Now I have heard that the area has been turned into a natural preserve. In one year my family relocated to Los Angeles where I resumed my education.
When Governor Orval Faubus closed the schools in Arkansas, I missed a year of school. I operated an elevator in the Marion Hotel and washed dishes in a restaurant. Blacks had to come to the back and order food or sit at a table in the kitchen to eat.
The park we had to go to was on the outskirts of town, called Gilliam Park. It was way down in the woods. Now I have heard that the area has been turned into a natural preserve. In one year my family relocated to Los Angeles where I resumed my education.
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