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- Commemorating Courage: Electronic Field Trip to Little Rock Central High School
Commemorating Courage: Electronic Field Trip to Little Rock Central High School
In December 2007, children from 47 U.S. states, Australia, Canada and Switzerland participated in a simultaneous visit to Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site – without leaving their own schools. The adventure, "Commemorating Courage: The Nine Who Made a Difference" is the newest virtual expedition in the popular Electronic Field Trip program.
Available to millions of children throughout the U.S. and abroad, the Ball State University Electronic Field Trip program works with the national parks through a unique partnership with the National Park Foundation, receiving additional support from the Best Buy Children's Foundation.
The first day of school is always filled with great anticipation. You're enrolled in what some architects have called the most beautiful high school in America. As you make your way toward Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, you become aware of an angry mob that has gathered across the street from the high school. In fact, the governor has called out the National Guard to maintain order, but every time you attempt to enter the school the guardsmen block your way. This is the scene that greeted "the Little Rock Nine," as they were called by the media, in September 1957.
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was the first important test for the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision of May 17, 1954. The Little Rock controversy was the challenge to the national resolve to enforce equality in public school education in the face of massive Southern defiance during the period following the Brown decision. Many individuals and organizations in and around the city took up the cause for civil rights, such as Mrs. Daisy Bates, who helped the students gain access to the high school.
Central High School National Historic Site commemorates the events that surrounded the crisis of 1957. It has been 50 years since the desegregation of Central High School.
The trip to Little Rock was a live interactive 60-minute broadcast that took students— virtually—to Central High School, a national park, and into the lives of the "Little Rock Nine." They learned about the struggles those brave students endured while the country fought over desegregation. Kids also had the opportunity to call in or e-mail questions to the show's host and special guests, making it a truly interactive experience.
Spirit Trickey, Park Ranger and daughter of one of the Little Rock Nine, hosted the event while Ernest Green, a Trustee of the African American Experience Fund of the National Park Foundation, and Minnijean Brown Trickey, members of the Little Rock Nine, made special guest appearances.
Click here to learn more about the National Park Foundation's Electronic Field Trip programs.
