"...I had the option to go to school near where I lived. It was something I’d wanted and now I had the right to do it."
-Terrence Roberts, one of the Nine
-Terrence Roberts, one of the Nine
Across the country, especially in rural Southern areas, white schools were far superior. African-American schools typically were in poor condition and used hand-me-down textbooks and equipment.
"What the black schools had back then was what the white schools wore out."
-John McCullars, a teacher at Central in 1957
-John McCullars, a teacher at Central in 1957
"I wondered what it would be like to attend school inside that gigantic brick building that looked so much like a big Eastern university. Rumor had it that Central students enjoyed several fancy kitchens set up for home economics class, as well as the latest projectors for showing movies and all sorts of science laboratory equipment."
-Melba Pattillo
-Melba Pattillo
Daisy Bates, a local civil rights activist, set out to change this inequity.