A Life Is More Than a Moment: The Desegregation of Little Rock's Central High

by Will Campbell, Ernest Dumas, Robert S. McCord

These are the stunning photographs that shocked the conscience of the nation in 1957. President Dwight Eisenhower was so moved at the beating of veteran Alex Wilson that he ordered 1,200 paratroopers from the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, and he federalized the Arkansas National Guard to quell the "disgraceful occurrences." But how did it happen? Little Rock seemed an unlikely place for such violent hatred; it did not even see itself as part of the Deep South and had voluntarily decided to desegregrate the schools. Essays by Will Campbell, Bob McCord, and Ernie Dumas chart the path leading to the crisis, as well as the impact of the crisis on the national civil rights movement.. "Young Will Counts had been with the Arkansas Democrat for only about three months on that fateful Labor Day in 1957. Recently graduated from Indiana University with a master's degree, he had been pleased to get a job with his hometown newspaper, though he didn't expect to see much action.. "Governor Orval Faubus' surprise decision to surround Central High with Arkansas National Guard troops and prevent nine black students from entering changed everything. The prospect of covering a major civil rights story in his own hometown was exhilarating. He headed for the school wearing a "blend-in" plaid shirt and armed with his beloved small camera. Three Life magazine staffers - Francis Miller, Grey Villette, and Paul Welch - found that their coats and ties quickly identified them as outsiders. They were attacked by the mob and (adding insult to injury) arrested by the police. Will was able to move freely through the crowds and was accepted everywhere as a native son. His photographs capture the essence of thosedark days.

76 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Joe Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 2007 50th Anniversary Edition includes text and photos by Will Counts with introduction by Will Campbell, essays by Ernest Dumas and Robert S. McCord. Will Counts graduated from LR Central High and later worked for the Arkansas Democrat, where one of his photos was runner-up for the 1957 Pulitzer Prize in photography. He went on to the Associated Press in Chicago and Indianapolis, then taught at Indiana University. In 1997, while a visiting Professor of Journalism at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, he returned to Central High to document the school 40 years after the 1957 integration crisis. He died in 2001. This is a powerful volume—it’s shocking to remember and realize some of what went on….

[Karen Linton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.