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Remember Little Rock: The Time, the People, the Stories
Just over 50 years ago, in Little Rock, Arkansas, nine brave black students stood up for their rights and made history. The integration of Central High School in Little Rock changed the course of education in America forever, and became one of the pivotal points in the Civil Rights Movement.
In Remember Little Rock award-winning author Paul Robert Walker uses eyewitness accounts and on-the-scene news photography to take a fresh look at a time of momentous consequence in U.S. history. Here, we get the story from all the students directly involved; their fellow students, black and white; parents on both sides; military, police, and government officials. The author uses personal interviews with many of those who attended the 50th anniversary celebration in 2007, and explores what happened, what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why.
This latest addition to National Geographic’s popular Remember series also includes a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement, selected postscripts, a guide to resources, and an extensive index. The foreword to this inspiring book is written by Terrence J. Roberts, Ph.D., one of the Little Rock Nine.
National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
In Remember Little Rock award-winning author Paul Robert Walker uses eyewitness accounts and on-the-scene news photography to take a fresh look at a time of momentous consequence in U.S. history. Here, we get the story from all the students directly involved; their fellow students, black and white; parents on both sides; military, police, and government officials. The author uses personal interviews with many of those who attended the 50th anniversary celebration in 2007, and explores what happened, what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why.
This latest addition to National Geographic’s popular Remember series also includes a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement, selected postscripts, a guide to resources, and an extensive index. The foreword to this inspiring book is written by Terrence J. Roberts, Ph.D., one of the Little Rock Nine.
National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 13, 2009
38 people want to read
About the author
Paul Robert Walker
33 books7 followersI was born in Oak Park, Illinois—just like Ernest Hemingway, only later.
I’ve been saying this in biographies for a long time, and it sounds pretty good. Ernest Hemingway is big stuff, and how many authors are born in Oak Park, Illinois?
Yet recently I was taken to task during a visit to the Fresno area, where two—count them two—separate individuals pinned me down with grueling interrogations involving specific details, places, and people in Oak Park, Illinois. I admitted to them as I admit to you on the World Wide Web: I know absolutely nothing about Oak Park, Illinois.
I was born in Oak Park Hospital, but we lived in a neighboring town called River Grove. And we moved from there when I was a year and a half. I take my literary connections where I find them.
We moved a lot in my early years, four times before I turned eleven, for a total of five places, all in the Chicago area. My Dad died in place number four, which was a townhouse in south Chicago, across the street from the Chicago Skyway, now Interstate 90. I counted trucks on the Skyway when we first moved in, but I stopped counting trucks when my father died.
I was nine, and it was November 1962, a year before the JFK assassination changed America forever. I still associate my father’s death with the death of JFK, and throw the Cuban missile crisis into the mix. It was a pivotal time for me, for my generation, and for our nation—an end to innocence and the beginning of an exciting yet challenging era of social turmoil.
My mother moved us to Evanston, a tree-shaded suburb just north of Chicago, where she got a job as a 3rd grade teacher. She later found a new career as an adjustment teacher (similar to a school counselor) in the Chicago schools. I grew up surrounded by teachers, who discussed education until they were blue in the face—which didn't turn me blue personally, but did make me believe that education was pretty important.
Evanston was a cultured place, home of Northwestern University, and I got my first taste of theater as an 8th grade extra in a Northwestern production of Don Quixote starring Peter Strauss, who later went on to mini-series stardom in Rich Man, Poor Man. On the closing night, Peter was so sick he couldn’t perform, so his understudy stepped into the starring role, with the understudy’s understudy stepping in for him and on down the line until I rose from the ranks of faceless extras and took the demanding role of Second Mule Skinner—which meant I got to mumble something like, “Move on, there!” I was hooked.
I continued acting, started singing, and had my first short story published at Evanston Township High School, which at that time was rated the number one public high school in America (by whomever rates these things.) I studied acting for a year at Boston University School of Fine Arts, and when I decided that I wanted a broader education, I transferred to Occidental College in Los Angeles, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. in Anglo-American literature. Just before graduation, I won third place in a short story contest and received a check for the whopping amount of $20. It was the first time I was ever paid for my writing and it felt good.
After college, I taught English for six years at a Chassidic Yeshiva in West Hollywood, while playing in a rock band and writing for an alternative weekly newspaper. I started writing for the newspaper after I won a story contest with a tall tale about a guy who loses his triplex on the beach during a game of darts with the devil. It was called "Darts with Mr. D," and the paper presented me with a princely check for $100—a 500% increase over my college contest award. Not only that, they asked me to keep writing for them, only—get this—they wanted actual journalism! I did what I could and had lots of fun doing it.
I got my big break when I answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times that said, “Writers Wanted.” I thought it was some weird scam but decided t
I’ve been saying this in biographies for a long time, and it sounds pretty good. Ernest Hemingway is big stuff, and how many authors are born in Oak Park, Illinois?
Yet recently I was taken to task during a visit to the Fresno area, where two—count them two—separate individuals pinned me down with grueling interrogations involving specific details, places, and people in Oak Park, Illinois. I admitted to them as I admit to you on the World Wide Web: I know absolutely nothing about Oak Park, Illinois.
I was born in Oak Park Hospital, but we lived in a neighboring town called River Grove. And we moved from there when I was a year and a half. I take my literary connections where I find them.
We moved a lot in my early years, four times before I turned eleven, for a total of five places, all in the Chicago area. My Dad died in place number four, which was a townhouse in south Chicago, across the street from the Chicago Skyway, now Interstate 90. I counted trucks on the Skyway when we first moved in, but I stopped counting trucks when my father died.
I was nine, and it was November 1962, a year before the JFK assassination changed America forever. I still associate my father’s death with the death of JFK, and throw the Cuban missile crisis into the mix. It was a pivotal time for me, for my generation, and for our nation—an end to innocence and the beginning of an exciting yet challenging era of social turmoil.
My mother moved us to Evanston, a tree-shaded suburb just north of Chicago, where she got a job as a 3rd grade teacher. She later found a new career as an adjustment teacher (similar to a school counselor) in the Chicago schools. I grew up surrounded by teachers, who discussed education until they were blue in the face—which didn't turn me blue personally, but did make me believe that education was pretty important.
Evanston was a cultured place, home of Northwestern University, and I got my first taste of theater as an 8th grade extra in a Northwestern production of Don Quixote starring Peter Strauss, who later went on to mini-series stardom in Rich Man, Poor Man. On the closing night, Peter was so sick he couldn’t perform, so his understudy stepped into the starring role, with the understudy’s understudy stepping in for him and on down the line until I rose from the ranks of faceless extras and took the demanding role of Second Mule Skinner—which meant I got to mumble something like, “Move on, there!” I was hooked.
I continued acting, started singing, and had my first short story published at Evanston Township High School, which at that time was rated the number one public high school in America (by whomever rates these things.) I studied acting for a year at Boston University School of Fine Arts, and when I decided that I wanted a broader education, I transferred to Occidental College in Los Angeles, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. in Anglo-American literature. Just before graduation, I won third place in a short story contest and received a check for the whopping amount of $20. It was the first time I was ever paid for my writing and it felt good.
After college, I taught English for six years at a Chassidic Yeshiva in West Hollywood, while playing in a rock band and writing for an alternative weekly newspaper. I started writing for the newspaper after I won a story contest with a tall tale about a guy who loses his triplex on the beach during a game of darts with the devil. It was called "Darts with Mr. D," and the paper presented me with a princely check for $100—a 500% increase over my college contest award. Not only that, they asked me to keep writing for them, only—get this—they wanted actual journalism! I did what I could and had lots of fun doing it.
I got my big break when I answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times that said, “Writers Wanted.” I thought it was some weird scam but decided t
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 17, 2024
A very well-written account of the Little Rock Nine. It is heinous what they endured just to go to school.
March 5, 2009
The integration of the high school in Little Rock Arkansas is explored in great detail in this new book. The illustrations are plentiful, and the text provides comprehensive detail about the moments in history captured in the photographs. My only concern about the book was the limited information about the current lives of the Little Rock Nine. There were very brief updates, but I would have enjoyed seeing updated photographs and interviews. This book would be an excellent introduction to a study of school integration, along with "Ruby Bridges: Through My Eyes" and "Remember: The Journey to School Integration."
February 25, 2019
25 March 2009 REMEMBER LITTLE ROCK by Paul Robert Walker, National Geographic, January 2009, 64p., ISBN: 978-1-4263-0402-6
"When asked what the white students thought of her, [Minnijean] gave an interesting and thoughtful reply: 'They are anxious to find out what we are like. They are torn between their parents and their own minds. They just don't know what to do.'"
"On Thursday, October 3, a group of white students -- organized by the Mothers League -- staged a walkout to protest the presence of the black students in their school. Although approximately 150 left, about half circled back and reentered the school when they realized that fewer students walked out than expected. The rest crossed Park Street to a vacant lot at the corner of 16th Street.
"There they hung a straw-filled dummy of a black student from a big oak tree...They danced around it, kicking it, punching it, stabbing it, and setting it on fire. As one boy stabbed the effigy with a penknife, a photographer at the scene asked another boy standing nearby what he was thinking. 'Oh, if that were only a real one!' he said.
"The boy who said it, Jim Eison, grew up to be a historian for two Little Rock museums. Forty years later, at a time when there were many public apologies for the events at Central, he offered an unusual but honest perspective: 'I was a product of my day and time, and I was acting from my early upbringing...The sentiment was true.'"
REMEMBER LITTLE ROCK is a powerful story largely told through the voices of the black and white students who were at the center of the integration of Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. It is filled with photos of the characters and incidents that were, for several months, the epicenter of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Some photos are iconic images while many others I had never before seen.
As evidenced by the testimony of these students, there is much to be learned here about thinking for oneself and coming to understand the need to develop one's own moral compass.
In researching for the book, Paul Robert Walker learned that, "Day after day, the Nine faced insults, threats, and physical violence. They endured punching, shoving, and kicking. They had spitballs, rubber bands, and paper clips shot at them, their heels stepped on by white students walking behind them, ink sprayed on their clothes, knives flashed in their faces, and their heads and clothing shoved into toilets. Glue and tacks and glass were placed on their seats, and their gym showers were turned to scalding hot. Their lockers were broken into and their books were stolen or destroyed so often that many of them stopped carrying books to school. These were everyday events. Some days were worse than others."
And yet, the classroom could become a sanctuary from the ignorance and violence. Ernest Green, the one high school senior in the group of nine recalled, '...Of all the things that have happened at Central, the most significant was the friendly attitude that students showed toward me the day of the rioting.
"'The type of thing that was going on outside, people beaten, cursed, the mob hysterics and all of this going on outside...we inside the school didn't realize the problems that were occurring and continually students were befriending us. I remember one case in particular in my physics class. I was three weeks behind in my assignments [by time the legal wrangling finally permitted he and the other eight to attend Central High], and a couple of fellows offered to give me notes and to help me catch up the work that I had missed. I was amazed at this kind of attitude being shown toward the Negroes.'"
Reading the recollections of the participants, it is clear that lives are forever changed through one's being a witness to or participant in social change. REMEMBER LITTLE ROCK illustrates how it was that teenagers in the midst of creating and recreating their own personal identities stood at the epicenter of this pivotal event in 20th century American history. It is a book that makes it so easy for today's readers to imagine being there, and to take what they learn from those who were involved in the drama of Little Rock and transfer that knowledge to the 21st century social issues that their own generation faces.
"'I felt very special at that moment,' remembered Terrence Roberts. 'I was aware that something momentous was taking place that morning although years would pass before I would truly grasp the overall significance of what had happened. This was the first time since Reconstruction that federal troops had been ordered into the South to protect the rights of African Americans. On that morning, however, my primary thought was that maybe now I would not be killed for simply trying to go to school.'"
I love this sort of informational book! Sixty-four compelling pages -- half of them photographs -- and readers can so easily cruise right through it and get so much out of it. Some readers will undoubtedly be interested in going on to read Melba Pattillo Beals' WARRIORS DON'T CRY.
Here in California, where American history is studied in the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades, students of all three ages will be engaged and enlightened by this outstanding, well-researched book about a group of nine teens who, in their day, changed the world.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
"When asked what the white students thought of her, [Minnijean] gave an interesting and thoughtful reply: 'They are anxious to find out what we are like. They are torn between their parents and their own minds. They just don't know what to do.'"
"On Thursday, October 3, a group of white students -- organized by the Mothers League -- staged a walkout to protest the presence of the black students in their school. Although approximately 150 left, about half circled back and reentered the school when they realized that fewer students walked out than expected. The rest crossed Park Street to a vacant lot at the corner of 16th Street.
"There they hung a straw-filled dummy of a black student from a big oak tree...They danced around it, kicking it, punching it, stabbing it, and setting it on fire. As one boy stabbed the effigy with a penknife, a photographer at the scene asked another boy standing nearby what he was thinking. 'Oh, if that were only a real one!' he said.
"The boy who said it, Jim Eison, grew up to be a historian for two Little Rock museums. Forty years later, at a time when there were many public apologies for the events at Central, he offered an unusual but honest perspective: 'I was a product of my day and time, and I was acting from my early upbringing...The sentiment was true.'"
REMEMBER LITTLE ROCK is a powerful story largely told through the voices of the black and white students who were at the center of the integration of Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. It is filled with photos of the characters and incidents that were, for several months, the epicenter of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Some photos are iconic images while many others I had never before seen.
As evidenced by the testimony of these students, there is much to be learned here about thinking for oneself and coming to understand the need to develop one's own moral compass.
In researching for the book, Paul Robert Walker learned that, "Day after day, the Nine faced insults, threats, and physical violence. They endured punching, shoving, and kicking. They had spitballs, rubber bands, and paper clips shot at them, their heels stepped on by white students walking behind them, ink sprayed on their clothes, knives flashed in their faces, and their heads and clothing shoved into toilets. Glue and tacks and glass were placed on their seats, and their gym showers were turned to scalding hot. Their lockers were broken into and their books were stolen or destroyed so often that many of them stopped carrying books to school. These were everyday events. Some days were worse than others."
And yet, the classroom could become a sanctuary from the ignorance and violence. Ernest Green, the one high school senior in the group of nine recalled, '...Of all the things that have happened at Central, the most significant was the friendly attitude that students showed toward me the day of the rioting.
"'The type of thing that was going on outside, people beaten, cursed, the mob hysterics and all of this going on outside...we inside the school didn't realize the problems that were occurring and continually students were befriending us. I remember one case in particular in my physics class. I was three weeks behind in my assignments [by time the legal wrangling finally permitted he and the other eight to attend Central High], and a couple of fellows offered to give me notes and to help me catch up the work that I had missed. I was amazed at this kind of attitude being shown toward the Negroes.'"
Reading the recollections of the participants, it is clear that lives are forever changed through one's being a witness to or participant in social change. REMEMBER LITTLE ROCK illustrates how it was that teenagers in the midst of creating and recreating their own personal identities stood at the epicenter of this pivotal event in 20th century American history. It is a book that makes it so easy for today's readers to imagine being there, and to take what they learn from those who were involved in the drama of Little Rock and transfer that knowledge to the 21st century social issues that their own generation faces.
"'I felt very special at that moment,' remembered Terrence Roberts. 'I was aware that something momentous was taking place that morning although years would pass before I would truly grasp the overall significance of what had happened. This was the first time since Reconstruction that federal troops had been ordered into the South to protect the rights of African Americans. On that morning, however, my primary thought was that maybe now I would not be killed for simply trying to go to school.'"
I love this sort of informational book! Sixty-four compelling pages -- half of them photographs -- and readers can so easily cruise right through it and get so much out of it. Some readers will undoubtedly be interested in going on to read Melba Pattillo Beals' WARRIORS DON'T CRY.
Here in California, where American history is studied in the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades, students of all three ages will be engaged and enlightened by this outstanding, well-researched book about a group of nine teens who, in their day, changed the world.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
July 22, 2013
This is a fantastic book with lots of photos, some cartoons, and an exceptional timeline that puts the events of Little Rock within other events of the Civil Rights Movement. There are also brief notes about what happened to each of the nine students after they grew up.
#bookaday
#bookaday
April 21, 2018
Excellent and intense account of what happened in the first days of integration, including many first hand experiences and photos. It was a shameful time with hateful, threatening actions towards the innocent students not only from the mobs in the street and officials but from many of the white students themselves. They persevered, making it through daily spittings, pushing, name-calling, etc. and went on to colleges, great careers and lives. Remarkable students. This only happened in 1957...not that long ago.
February 20, 2020
Absolutely brilliant. Such a clear and accurate description of what occurred at Little Rock and the different perspectives that were held at the time of such a crucial historical event. It conveys in an easy to read style the real emotional impact that this event had on the 9 students and how hard they fought for their education. Highly recommend.
September 12, 2020
Reading informational books for my students 30 book challenge. This book is so sad considering how things are still pretty challenging for our society today.
July 20, 2023
Very informative. The pictures speak a thousand words.
March 1, 2013
Sixty pages - manageable for a read aloud to middle school students or for literature circle, student-led discussions. I didn't want to stop reading Walker's gripping account of how nine black students (student warriors...warriors without weapons...) attempted to integrate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock. Carefully chosen primary sources - photos, political cartoons - support the ideas in the text. Walker gets at the complexity of this situation. It wasn't black and white. Many of the white high schools students were victims of a society that had raised them to believe in certain ways. Black and white students were effected in the long run.
November 3, 2009
A very readable incidental history of the Little Rock, Arkansas school integration in 1957. Three imortant dates are given chapters, on echapter is devoted to notable characters, and one to the day by day lives of the students integrating Central High. The chapters resemble well written magazine articles. A timeline and source list are given, as well as short updates revealing what became of each of the students and a couple of other key players.
October 11, 2009
This thin book with memorable photographs tells the horrific stories of nine teenagers who were threatened only because they wanted to attend a better school. The author interviews many of the participants and closes with an epilogue, civil rights timeline and postscripts from the participants. Highly recommended.
September 30, 2011
Walker makes good use of photographs to cover the main events of the 1957 integration of Little Rock's Central High School. This book provides a great overview of the sensational civil rights moment, and was wonderful preparation for my meeting with Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of the nine, last week.
May 9, 2024
Even though we had a thoroughly excellent guided tour of the Little Rock National Historic site, I still learned many new things from this excellent book. It explains the ins/outs of clearly but concisely and the photos are compelling. It's such an absolutely heartbreaking story to learn about, but I hope people will take it on. This is a great start.
Black American History Roadtrip
Black American History Roadtrip
April 2, 2009
This book was well-researched using several primary & secondary resources (including some of the students themselves). I always appreciate this in books for children.
The book read like a story and included lots of detail without being overwhelming.
The book read like a story and included lots of detail without being overwhelming.
August 3, 2009
I thought that this book was really informative and detailed. It gave me a new look at the history of Central High School in Little Rock.
September 1, 2009
Excellent photos and first-person recollections give readers a "you are there" feeling for the dangers and triumphs of high-school integration in Little Rock.
December 26, 2009
Read my review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/200...
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/200...
February 24, 2009
I am so disturbed that this kind of crap was legal as few as fifty years ago. Ugh.
June 12, 2009
Short well illustrated story of the integration of Central High by 9 Black students in 1957.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews