Fire from the Rock (26 page)

“They probably appreciate that. I think that's what I'd miss the most—everything being routine and ordinary. They never have a normal day, so it really is a big deal.”

“Yeah, and then our bigmouthed governor gets on TV every night and makes sure everybody thinks the world is about to blow up,” Rachel said, clearly annoyed.

“Last week I heard him say, ‘We are now an occupied territory. Evidence of the naked force of the federal government is clear, in these unsheathed bayonets in the backs of schoolgirls.' Good grief!”

“What can you do when your leaders are nutso?” Rachel asked.

“Go to a school dance!” Sylvia replied with a laugh. “We've got the Halloween dance coming up soon.”

“Folks at Central are scared to even schedule a dance. Trouble might show up,” Rachel said grumpily.

“Speaking of trouble, I got a letter from Reggie a couple of days ago,” Sylvia said, trying to keep the softness out of her voice.

“You know, he's been sending Papa seven dollars every single week.”

“Yeah, he told me. He sends money to Miss Lillie, too.”

“He's a good kid, Sylvie. Just confused. My parents have forgiven him and moved on. Daddy said life is too short to hold on to hatred.”

“Your dad is something else,” Sylvia said with real admiration.

“Hey, Sylvia, are you glad you're not one of the Nine, or sorry you're missing your chance to be famous, sort of?”

“I'm still gonna be famous. This just wasn't the time for me to be on the six o'clock news. But you just wait. One day, millions of people will know my name.”

“I don't think anybody will remember me in a hundred years,” Rachel said. “Actually, I don't think I'd want that. But I'd hope that you'd remember me.”

“Always.”

“Forever.”

IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS,
Little Rock, Arkansas, saw angry demonstrations as well as weekly prayer services for peace. The nine students bravely went to school each day, undergoing all kinds of abuse in the halls of Central High School. They had food thrown on them, acid thrown on their clothes, their lockers were vandalized, and their books stolen. They were pushed down steps, bullied in the halls, and called horrible names—every single day. Through it all, they endured. The governor and the politicians encouraged those who persecuted the nine students at Central High School. He tried actively, but unsuccessfully, all year long, to have the Nine removed. Few of the students who tormented the Nine were ever prosecuted for their actions.

The federal troops were gradually withdrawn as the school year progressed, and National Guardsmen, under the authority of the President of the United States, were assigned to protect the Nine inside the school. But they could not be inside classrooms or bathrooms or gym locker rooms, where much of the abuse took place. Eventually, the National Guardsmen were also removed, although the torture and persecution never ceased.

In December 1957, Minnijean Brown was suspended from school for spilling chili on two white students who had been harassing her. “One down and eight to go” was the chant heard in the halls. Minnijean was finally expelled in February 1958 for fighting back. She moved out of Little Rock.

As the early part of 1958 progressed, tensions mounted, and the harassment of the Nine increased. “Open Season on Coons” was typed on cards that were distributed at Central.

In spite of it all, Ernest Green became the first black student to graduate from Central High on May 25, 1958. He was told not to show up, threatened with violence if he participated in the ceremonies, but he joined six hundred other seniors to graduate. Federal troops and city police were on hand but the event went off without incident.

In an interesting side note, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended the ceremony almost completely unnoticed.

In July 1958, Governor Faubus was elected to a third term. “I stand now, and always, in opposition to integration by force, and at bayonet point,” he said. In August, he called a special session of the state legislature to pass a law allowing him to close public schools to avoid integration. On September 15, 1958, Governor Faubus ordered all of Little Rock's high schools closed. They stayed closed the entire school year of 1958—59. Those students, both black and white, who were unable to find an alternative lost one entire school year. After much political wrangling, the schools reopened in September 1959, all of them integrated. Governor Faubus finally gave up.

Sylvia Faye and her family are fictional, but the nine students who integrated the school are very real.

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