Hundreds crowded Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 2017, to mark the desegregation crisis' 60th anniversary. National attention returned to Little Rock with television cameras recording, reporters rounding up interviewees, and photographers capturing the day. Speakers recalled experiences from the crisis and its historical significance as a victory in the early Civil Rights Movement. The 60th commemoration stood apart from previous gatherings; however, the day's theme was clear: The struggle for reform was not yet complete. Many projected urgency for change and frustrations with the events of 2017. At times, it sounded like a church service complete with biblical verses and prayer. Others felt like a political rally.
The Little Rock Nine took tan chairs on the stage amid a standing ovation, the loudest of the day. One seat was empty and adorned with a gold and black sash to honor deceased Little Rock Nine-member, Jefferson Thomas. The surviving members glanced at it from time to time, somberly, throughout the event. This was the first commemoration without the full group.
Speakers took turns at the podium. Among them were the Nine, former President Bill Clinton, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Many expressed what was on their minds: the apparent re-segregation of the country's public education system, racial discord, and the state control of Little Rock's public schools.
Ernest Green, the first African-American to graduate from Central High School, reflected on an Arkansas Times cover that read "Progress?":
I like to remove that question mark and instead say, "Progress Ellipsis." Progress is not a single action in a moment. It is the small, mundane, everyday action- somedays within a national focus, other days with no more fanfare than a small thank you. Progress is like water torture on the unrelenting enemy of stagnancy and complacency. Initially, it feels like nothing more than tiny droplets of water. After a while, it beats away at hate and vile rhetoric, not as a rushing water but still seemingly as small droplets. Progress has to continue.
Fellow Little Rock Nine member Dr. Terrance Roberts noted, too, that the pains and struggles of the Little Rock Nine and others who sacrificed for equality had not been fulfilled. He said, "I come here not to celebrate. Not that I don’t want to celebrate, but that the time has not yet come. For me, the balloons are in the closet; the confetti is stored away; the noisemakers…are waiting to make their noise. It’s been a 75 year wait for me."
Dr. Gates, a literary scholar and filmmaker, spoke in awe of the historic building and what it represented in American History. He recounted his memory of the crisis as a seven-year-old boy. "I feel like I'm standing in a religious shrine," he said and pointed to the Little Rock Nine seated to his right. "These are the saints that we are here to honor."
The desegregation crisis served as a haunting reminder to Gates, who urged Americans to activate and fight for equality.
"We once again find ourselves in a struggle for freedom and justice in our land," Gates said. "We have to draw a line in the sand, as [the Little Rock Nine] drew a line in the sand…60 years ago."
The Arkansas governor-turned-president Clinton, who had long maintained a special relationship with the Little Rock Nine, served as keynote speaker. He spoke of a newfound interest in genomics, the study of mapping the human genome. He explained that all people share 99.5% of the same genome, leaving only a half of a percent that makes up an individual’s race and other physical attributes. The root of arguments rested on that small portion, he suggested, that had devolved whole nations “back to tribalism and it’s sweeping the world.”
"What is the matter with us?" he asked.
At the ceremony's conclusion, he offered a suggestion to the Little Rock Nine on how to honor their legacy after 60 years: "Celebrate today…put on your dancing shows tonight…but tomorrow we need you again. Put on your marching boots and get in the way."
Jared Craig serves as virtual exhibit coordinator for the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. He received an MA in Public History from UA Little Rock and a BA from the university of Central Arkansas. His research interests include political movements in the American South, crime, and the media.