Page "Little Rock Central High School" Paragraph 12

On the morning of September 23, 1957, the nine African-American high school students faced an angry mob of over 1, 000 White Americans protesting integration in front of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

As the students were escorted inside by the Little Rock police, violence escalated and they were removed from the school.

The next day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the 1, 200-man 101st Airborne Battle Group of the U. S. Army's 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to escort the nine students into the school.

By the same order, the entire 10, 000 man Arkansas National Guard was federalized, to remove them from the control of Governor Faubus.

At nearby Camp Robinson, a hastily organized Task Force 153rd Infantry drew guardsmen from units all over the state.

Most of the Arkansas Guard was quickly demobilized, but the ad hoc TF153Inf assumed control at Thanksgiving when the 327th withdrew, and patrolled inside and outside the school for the remainder of the school year.

As Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the nine students, remembered, and quoted in her book, " After three full days inside Central School, I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought.