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John,
68 years ago today, nine brave Black students walked into Central High School — changing history forever. Today marks the 68th anniversary of the day that the Little Rock Nine began regularly taking classes in 1957.
We give our thanks to Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Pattillo Beals for their bravery, courage, and boundary breaking advocacy.
This didn’t happen overnight. Brown v. Board promised integration in 1954. But three years later, Black students still faced mobs, violence, and hate simply for entering a classroom.
It took the intervention of the President, an executive order, federalizing the National Guard, and having them accompany the Little Rock Nine to school just for them to be able to safely attend classes.
Their story is not just history. It’s a reminder that the right to learn, to play, to imagine, and to build a future is never given freely to Black children, it is fought for. Today, our communities still face underfunded schools, the banning of Black history, book bans, over-policing, and the same racism that tried to stop the Little Rock Nine at the schoolhouse door.
Black Lives Matter is committed to defending Black education, protecting the right to play and dream, and fighting for the liberation that the Little Rock Nine pointed us toward. We do this work in their honor and for the generations coming after us.
The courage of the Little Rock Nine echoes across decades.
On this anniversary, we invite you to honor the Little Rock Nine not just in memory, but in action.
Black Lives Matter is fighting every day to defend Black education, protect the right to play and dream, and build a future of liberation. That work is only possible because of supporters like you.
Chip in today to celebrate Black history and power the fight for Black futures.
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For Black freedom,
Black Lives Matter
Our grassroots movement is pushing for Black liberation every single day. We are striving to create a world where Black people do so much more than just survive. It’s time we thrive.
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Black Lives Matter imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles.
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