Little Rock Nine

===The "Lost Year"===
[[File:High School on TV in Little Rock, Arkansas.tif|thumb|250px|Student watching high school classes on TV during 1959 schoolyear when schools were physically shutdown]]
[[File:Little rock integration protest.tif|thumb|290px|Segregationists protesting the integration of Central High School at the state capitol, 1959]]
In the summer of 1958, as the school year was drawing to a close, Faubus decided to petition the decision by the Federal District Court in order to postpone the desegregation of public high schools in Little Rock.<ref>Bates, Daisy. ''The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir''. New York: David McKay, 1962, p. 151.</ref> In the ''[[Cooper v. Aaron]]'' case, the Little Rock School District, under the leadership of [[Orval Faubus]], fought for a two and a half year delay on de-segregation, which would have meant that Black students would only be permitted into public high schools in January 1961.<ref>Gordy, Sondra. "Empty Hearts: Little Rock Secondary Teachers, 1958–1959". ''The Arkansas Historical Quarterly'', 1997, p. 428.</ref> Faubus argued that if the schools remained integrated there would be an increase in violence. However, in August 1958, the Federal Courts ruled against the delay of de-segregation, which incited Faubus to call together an Extraordinary Session of the State Legislature on August 26 in order to enact his segregation bills.<ref>Bates, Daisy. ''The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir''. New York: David McKay, 1962, p. 152.</ref>

Claiming that Little Rock had to assert their rights and freedom against the federal decision, in September 1958, Faubus signed acts that enabled him and the Little Rock School District to close all public schools.<ref>Bates, Daisy. ''The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir''. New York: David McKay, 1962, p. 154.</ref> Thus, with this bill signed, on Monday September 15, Faubus ordered the closure of all four public high schools, preventing both Black and white students from attending school.<ref name="GordySondra">Gordy, Sondra. "Empty Hearts: Little Rock Secondary Teachers, 1958–1959". ''The Arkansas Historical Quarterly'', 1997, p. 429.</ref> Despite Faubus's decree, the city's population had the chance of refuting the bill since the school-closing law necessitated a [[referendum]]. The referendum, which would either condone or condemn Faubus's law, was to take place within thirty days.<ref name="GordySondra" /> A week before the referendum, which was scheduled to take place on September 27, Faubus addressed the citizens of Little Rock in an attempt to secure their votes. Faubus urged the population to vote against integration since he was planning on leasing the public school buildings to private schools, and, in doing so, would educate the white and Black students separately.<ref>Gordy, Sondra. "Empty Hearts: Little Rock Secondary Teachers, 1958–1959". ''The Arkansas Historical Quarterly'', 1997, p. 431.</ref> Faubus was successful in his appeal and won the referendum. This year came to be known as the "Lost Year."

Faubus's victory led to a series of consequences that affected Little Rock society. Faubus and the school board's intention to open private schools was blocked by an injunction by the [[8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals]],<ref name="green">{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Andrew A. |title=Little Rock's 'Lost Class' of 1959 recalls turbulent year |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/1998/sep/27/little-rocks-lost-class-1959-recalls-turbulent-yea/ |access-date=March 5, 2021 |agency=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |date=September 27, 1998}}</ref> which caused some citizens of Little Rock to turn on the Black community. The Black community became a target for hate crimes since people blamed them for the closing of the schools.<ref>Bates, Daisy. ''The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir''. New York: David McKay, 1962, p. 155.</ref> [[Daisy Bates (activist)|Daisy Bates]], head of the NAACP chapter in Little Rock, was a primary victim of these crimes, in addition to the Black students enrolled at Little Rock Central High School and their families.<ref>Bates, Daisy. ''The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir''. New York: David McKay, 1962. p. 159.</ref>

The city's teachers were also placed in a difficult position. They were forced to swear loyalty to Faubus's bills.<ref name= "GordySondra" /> Even though Faubus's idea of private schools never played out, the teachers were still bound by their contracts and expected to attend school every day.<ref name="green"/><ref>Gordy, Sondra. "Empty Hearts: Little Rock Secondary Teachers, 1958–1959". ''The Arkansas Historical Quarterly'', 1997, p. 436.</ref>

In May 1959, after the firing of forty-four teachers and administrative staff from the four high schools, three segregationist board members were replaced with three moderate ones. The new board members reinstated the forty-four staff members to their positions.<ref name="GordySondra_a">Gordy, Sondra. "Empty Hearts: Little Rock Secondary Teachers, 1958–1959". ''The Arkansas Historical Quarterly'', 1997, p. 442.</ref> The new board of directors then began an attempt to reopen the schools, much to Faubus's dismay. In order to avoid any further complications, the public high schools were scheduled to open earlier than usual, on August 12, 1959.<ref name="GordySondra_a" />

Although the Lost Year had come to a close, the Black students who returned to the high schools were not welcomed by the other students. Rather, the Black students had a difficult time getting past mobs to enter the school, and, once inside, they were often subject to physical and emotional abuse.<ref>Bates, Daisy. ''The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir''. New York: David McKay, 1962, p. 165.</ref> The students were back at school and everything would eventually resume normal function, but the Lost Year would be a pretext for new hatred toward the Black students in the public high school.
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