On your first day back to schoool, be thankful you weren't Linda Brown. On this day, when she and nine other African American teenagers showed up for school, the Arkansas Governor used the National Guard to surround the school and refuse them entry. The Governor enjoyed the support of an angry crowd of some 400 whites who jeered, booed, and threatened to lynch the frightened teenagers.
The US Supreme court had ruled that not only was the "separate but equal" doctrine unconstitutional but went on to publish guidelines requiring public school systems to integrate "with all deliberate speed."
On September 24, President Dwight Eisenhower sent 1,000 U.S. troops to Little Rock to fix the little Governor and his motley crew of racists. The next day, the African American students entered under heavily armed guard. The episode served as a catalyst for the integration of other segregated schools in the United States.
Its also a great scene in Forest Gump when he picks up the book that Linda drops as she enters the school through all the rabble.
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