Little Rock Nine

Friday, 14th June 2024 at 8:00am

BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE:

This week, a group of our Level 2 History students attended a talk by Minniejean Brown-Trickey, a significant figure in the US Civil Rights Movement, and her daughter Spirit Tawfiq. Brown-Trickey was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African American school children who were part of an effort to desegregate high schools in Arkansas USA in 1957.

The nine children were refused entry to the local school by Arkansas' governor, who mobilised the National Guard to prevent the school from being integrated. This led to a historic intervention from the federal government when the President sent in paratroopers to protect the children and forcibly integrate the school.

It is incredibly rare for high school history students to meet someone who actually took part in an event they are currently studying, so meeting Brown-Trickey and listening to her experiences was an invaluable opportunity for our students to get a personal perspective on the realities of living in a fully segregated society, and helped bring the history we have been studying to life.