Remembering the Little Rock Nine: Advice to Grads from Civil Rights Pioneer Ernest Green
Posted: Monday, May 19, 2008
by J. Louise Larson
http://familyrootsandwings.blogspot.com/
EDITOR'S NOTE: J. Louise Larson recently interviewed Ernest Green, who was the only high school senior in the Little Rock Nine. He and eight other black students were the first to integrate Central High in 1957, following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education that declared segregation illegal. Last month marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and next month marks the 50th anniversary of Ernest Green's graduation from Central High School (which was attended by King).
It might not have been such a lonely year for Ernest Green. He was the only senior in the group that are now famous for their role in the American Civil Rights movement – but there could have been more.
"There were more than nine of us who the school board was going to approve (for transfer to Central High) – I never knew the exact number, but the others decided either on their own or with the help of their parents not to become transfer students to Central. It was late in the summer of 1957 when we found out who was going to be accepted to transfer, and it was the nine of us," Green recalled.
Now a managing director for Lehman Brothers' Washington, D.C. office, the Little Rock native was a child of the Jim Crow South.
"I had experienced segregated schools, segregated facilities, buses, restrooms, water fountains – all of that," he recalled.
But young Ernest Green was aware of the changes happening at both the grassroots and national levels.
"I paid attention to the Montgomery bus boycott. The Emmett Till murder made a big impression on me, Jackie Robinson made a big impression on me," he said.
When the Little Rock school board was sued by the NAACP, as an exemplary student he had a chance to sign on as a transfer. He took it. It didn't sound too bad at the time.
Arkansas had a few school districts that had desegregated the prior year, and the medical school and law school had admitted black students. Buses and libraries had quietly desegregated the year before.
"Our expectations were that this would be relatively quiet, that it would not be something akin to Montgomery (bus boycott)."
Their expectations were wrong.
We Shall Overcome
"During the summer, the governor (Orval Faubus) decided to play the race card and use Little Rock as an attempt to placate racists and right wingers. He called out the National Guard to bar our entrance and create this constitutional crisis as to whether federal government or state government would prevail in matters of desegregation," Green recalled.
He remembered Sept. 4, 1957, the day he enrolled at Little Rock's Central High.
"We went as a group – we were all there, except Elizabeth (Eckford). She was separated because she didn't have instructions of where we were to meet, and that's a historic picture of her," he said.
"In our view, that first day we simply were there to attend school. The fact that the governor's office was barring our entrance was a violation of our constitutional rights – we had a right to be there," he said.
An arrangement of statues at the Arkansas capitol has captured the group's anxious walk into school that first day.
Green recalled the noise level as pretty loud at the school site, but it really only hit home when he came home and watched it all on the TV news.
"There were National Guardsmen with drawn bayonets that were keeping us out – we felt intimidated, but we also felt it was our right to be there … and to have the soldiers removed so we could go to school," he recalled.
In his junior year at the segregated Horace Mann High School, Green had studied black history – from slave insurrection to protests, he'd learned a thing or two.
"You always felt you would overcome – that was the motivation that started me down the road. I believed it was the right thing to pursue … I had some idea this was an issue people had to push," he said.
He summoned all his teenage powers of optimism to believe that he could get past the National Guardsmen and over the color barrier, and graduate with his white peers.
"That was more faith than anything," he said. "My view was that we were going to be successful in this endeavor."
Once Faubus was ordered to stand down and let the black students join the white, things seemed to settle down.
"Initially, the atmosphere was collegial – but as the year wore on, there were a group of students who were opposed to our being there. They were the most vocal of the segregationists," he said.
An unpleasant atmosphere ensued, Green said. "Namecalling, spitting on students, breaking into lockers, harassment, throwing food items at girls – it became a reign of terror. That year we became pretty isolated," he said. "White students that were interested in trying to interact with us were intimidated by this group of segregationists. It was kind of like going to war every day. I thought somewhere along the way this was important to the country. This was more than just my getting through Central. This did take on more than just getting through class every day."
For all the tension and the vicious atmosphere, he persevered.
"It didn't take long to realize this was symbolic of more than just my education," he said.
"We got cards and letters from around the world – we were the No. 1 news story until the Russians put up Sputnik. All that, to me, made a difference as to why I wanted to stick it out. I figured out very quickly the best way I could torment my tormentors was to remain at Central."
As the year went on, things got tougher. Right up to graduation day, May 27, 1958, there were concerns that he might be harmed in an effort to prevent his matriculation with the otherwise white class.
"The resistance, the forces of evil as I called them, never really gave up," he said.
Life beyond Little Rock
And neither did Ernest Green give up. An Eagle Scout, he went on to receive a B.S. in Social Science and a Masters in Sociology from Michigan State University, where he was at the top of his class, and where he was also presented with an honorary doctorate. He has received many honors. Green is the managing director of public finance for Lehman Brothers' Washington, D.C., office.
Those jeering faces that bullied him because of his skin color 50 years ago?
"Life has moved on from remembering them," he said, noting with only a touch of irony that no one in Little Rock seems to want to be associated with what's generally acknowledged to be an ugly time in the history of race relations. "When I go back there, I can't find anybody who was opposed," Green said.
The experience of being a member of the now-historic Little Rock Nine had a profound effect on his life.
"I always said I knew I had to do something else – that graduating high school wasn't going to be enough to propel me through life. That has been a great help and motivator, as a teen, having a part in something like this. Realizing how rare it is helps focus you and gives you a chance to participate in something important to the country. Those are rare opportunities for young people," he said.
That Little Rock Nine got educated, they set goals and achieved them – and although the Little Rock Nine became part of their identity, it wasn't all they were, Green said.
"I'm proud of my colleagues and what they've been able to do with their lives and raise families and move on beyond Central High School," he said.
"We all came out of poor families, and education was a very important part of all of our upbringing. There were a lot of students out of The Nine who were brighter than myself – but we were a motivated group of young people who wanted to improve conditions for ourselves and our future. To me, that's the American dream."
His message to today's young people, of any color, is one that transcends race.
"I would tell them preparation is very important. Try to absorb and benefit from a formal education – it's a huge asset in preparing for life. Have some focus, and some commitment to principles. Be a good listener – taking advice from adults who've had varied experiences is an important part of growing up. While you may not have had a Little Rock experience in life, clearly you'll have some crossroads and issues, and you've got to be prepared to face them and try to make the right choice," he said.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Wonderful article. I always feel sad when I think about our country's dark history. But things like 'the Little Rock nine' isn't something that should just be forgotten; it is something we should have learned from. And as Mr. Green said, it's more about motivation and education. I will continue to pray for us all and our great country. Sandra.Thanks for your response, Sandra. I agree, we need to remember. And prayer is always a good idea. Best regards, J. Louise Larson
Sandra, thanks for your note. There is still work to be done, but we've come a long way. For my part, I'm thankful those nine students braved the jeers and made the difference at a critical time in our nation's history.
How Inspiring! This should have been in the Search Warp Graduation Topic Contest a month ago!
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