A LETTER FROM DUCHESS When I was growing up we were taught that the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education desegregated public schools But the textbooks did not explain that people still needed to make sure the law was followed One of the most important people who did this was Daisy Bates Bates could be considered an iconoclast An iconoclast is someone who challenges institutions Challenging segregation in schools was brave Bates faced this challenge with elegance and grace She was highly regarded by other civil rights activists She was one of only two women to speak at the March on Washington in 1963 She said We will walk until we are free until we can walk to any school and take our children to any school in the United States Join me on this journey to learn about Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine Join me on a journey that tells the story of the promise of freedom
Daisy Bates stands outside Little Rock Central High School which she helped integrate in 1957
CHAPTER ONE
A LONG DAY IN LITTLE ROCK Fifteen year old Elizabeth Eckford stood Central High School in Little Rock before the entrance of Little Rock Arkansas It was the morning of September 4 1957 The school building was only a short distance away All she had to do was make her way up the walkway and through the doors But Elizabeth noticed something strange A line of soldiers had formed in front of the doors The soldiers broke ranks to let other students into the school Elizabeth hoped they would let her in too But when she got near them they did not move She walked toward Arkansas National Guard soldiers turned Elizabeth Eckford away as she tried to enter Little Rock Central High School on September 4 1957
