Elizabeth Eckford
| Elizabeth Eckford | |
|---|---|
Elizabeth Eckford, age 15, pursued by a mob at Little Rock Central High School on the first day of the school year, September 4, 1957.
|
|
| Born |
Elizabeth Eckford October 4, 1941 Little Rock, Arkansas, United States |
| Alma mater |
Knox College in Illinois Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio |
| Movement | African-American Civil Rights Movement, Peace movement, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People |
| Children | Erin Eckford |
| Parent(s) | Oscar and Birdie Eckford |
| Awards |
Congressional Gold Medal Spingarn Medal Father Joseph Biltz Award |
Elizabeth Eckford (born October 4, 1941) is one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The integration came as a result of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Elizabeth's public ordeal was captured by press photographers on the morning of September 4, 1957, after she was prevented from entering the school by the Arkansas National Guard. A dramatic snapshot by Johnny Jenkins (UPI) showed the young girl being followed and threatened by an angry white mob; this and other photos of the day's startling events were circulated around the US and the world by the print press.
The most famous photo of the event was taken by Will Counts of the Arkansas Democrat. His image was the unanimous selection for a 1958 Pulitzer Prize, but since the story had earned the Arkansas Gazette two other Pulitzer Prizes already, the Prize was awarded to another photographer for a pleasant photograph of a two-year-old boy in Washington, D.C. A different photo taken by Counts of Alex Wilson, a black reporter for the Memphis Tri-State Defender being beaten by the angry mob in Little Rock the same day, was chosen as the "News Picture of the Year" for 1957 by the National Press Photographers Association. This image by Counts prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send federal troops to Little Rock.
On September 4 1957, Eckford and eight other African American students (known as the Little Rock Nine) made an unsuccessful attempt to enter Little Rock Central High School, which had been segregated. An angry mob of about 400 surrounded the school that day, with the complicity of the National Guard.
...
Wikipedia