Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas 1/22/14

Today we visited Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. This school is significant because it is the school which the Little Rock Nine attended in the 1950s. We learned that one of the Nine, Minnijean Brown, was expelled for retaliating after a white student was verbally abusing her. Minnijean was unable to perform with the musical group at school as it was one of the restrictions of attending Central High. Being a singer and loving music as much as I do, I don't know if I would be able to sit back and not participate in the activities I love like Minnijean did. This made me think of how brave and strong she was to continue going to Central High to fight for something she believed in. Although she was unable to graduate Central High like the rest of the Little Rock Nine (she was expelled for calling a white student "white trash") Minnijean made an incredible impact on the school community and effected the segregationists in Little Rock in a way that would not have been possible without her drive for change.

Alex Kalvar, Park School