On HBO tonight: Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Just a quick post to draw your attention to this documentary that premieres tonight on HBO. Here’s the description:

Desegregation ripped through the American South in 1957 when Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered National Guard troops to prevent nine black teenagers (dubbed the “Little Rock Nine”) from entering Little Rock’s Central High School while President Dwight Eisenhower sent military troops to guard them from an angry mob of whites outside the school. Today, Little Rock Central High, though 60% black and 40% white, still struggles with educational equity.

Natives of Little Rock, filmmakers Brent and Craig Renaud explore the mark of the 50th anniversary of the famous “Integration Crisis of 1957,” in Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later premiering Tuesday, September 25 at 8 p.m. by following present-day Central High students and faculty both in and out of school, along with community leaders and one of the original “Little Rock Nine,” who reflects on how much – and how little – has evolved since she courageously crossed the school’s steps nearly half a century ago.

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  1. Plateor.Com » On HBO tonight: Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later on 27 Oct 2007 at 11:24 pm

    [...] wrote an interesting post today on On HBO tonight: Little Rock Central High: 50 Years LaterHere’s a quick [...]

Comments

  1. Yori Kim wrote:

    what about the students of other race, are there none? Just asking out of curiosity.

    Posted 25 Sep 2007 at 4:13 pm

  2. Lyonside wrote:

    According to the 2000 census, the city of Little Rock had about 100K white citizens, about 74K black citizens, about 3K Asian citizens, and almost 5K Latino citizens. Almost the same number of people, about 2300, chose other or more than 1 race, so there is likely some overlap here. There were 500 Native Americans and 64 Pacific Islanders.

    Statistically, it’s quite possible that most of the teenagers in 2007 going to the local central high are going to be black or white, rather than another ethnic group.

    http://littlerock.about.com/library/weekly/aa032001d.htm

    Posted 25 Sep 2007 at 6:46 pm

  3. peter wrote:

    I found this doc to be very disturbing, but not because it highlights the problem of ‘voluntary’ school segregation and the racial divides caused by advanced placement (AP) classes. Most disturbing was that there were hardly any critical voices at the school–and by critical I mean those willing not only to challenge the status quo, but those who are equipped to question why the status quo exists in the first place. Where are the structural critiques of institutionalized racism; how did racism come to be institutionalized and what contemporary forms has it taken. Why are there ghettoes? They didn’t just appear out of thin air; they were created by government policies, by Federal Housing Authority loan discrimination in the 30s and 40s (yes the Feds denied loans to blacks who wanted to buy their homes) and by the post-War construction of all-white suburbs; by denying many returning black soldiers the promise of an education through the GI Bill; by redlining and white flight. It’s not an accident that wealth differentials between blacks and whites are so stark. Most blacks don’t own their homes. Nobody in this film asked why. Nobody interrupted the ‘bad’ stories: the ones that say all it takes is some gumption. This film solidified the unquestioned common sense in this country that (1) the nation’s problems can be solved by schools and schools alone; and (2) that spit-shine bootstraps American individualism is all that’s required for underprivileged kids to succeed. It was incredibly depressing to me that teachers (including African American teachers) refused–or were unable–to offer a sustained critique of poverty in America, much less in Little Rock. I found the last segment to be the most depressing of all. Why was this brave woman who had the incredible courage and fortitude to stare down the ugly face of White Supremacy 50 years ago lambasting the kids? How about some recommendations for change? “OK, you did it (with the government’s help), how do we do it? How are kids supposed to respond to an adult who says, “Mingle”? Mingle! Why? What difference is that going to make? This film did nothing but solidify the common sense that schools can solve all of our problems, that all it takes is a little individual initiative, and that voluntary segregation is merely a choice. These kids live in two different worlds, residentially segregated and unequal in all respects. We saw it but we didn’t hear any voices challenging or interrupting stories that have been handed down to us for 400 years.

    Posted 25 Sep 2007 at 9:08 pm

  4. Free wrote:

    The battle over desegregation, and at Little Rock High School in particular, largely concerned blacks and whites and the documentary is an examination of the black/white conflict 50 years on in Little Rock and at Little Rock High School where historic evens took place, so it makes perfect sense for the documentary to focus blacks and whites. In a documentary on the 1942 Japanese internment I would not expect for the filmmakers to interview on any groups other than Japanese and whites. Anything else just wouldn’t make sense.

    Posted 25 Sep 2007 at 11:58 pm

  5. Michelle wrote:

    just saw the documentary and I agree whole-heartedly with Peter’s comments

    Posted 29 Sep 2007 at 4:48 pm

  6. Diane Trotter wrote:

    I lived on West 11th, about 3 blocks northwest of Central, and attended St. Bartholomew Elementary, about 6 blocks southeast of Central. I don’t remember seeing anybody but blacks and whites. I’m surprised at the stats on Asians and Latinos. I saw one Korean girl when she married a neighbor srviceman and returned to the US with him. She wasn’t around along.

    Posted 10 Aug 2008 at 1:03 am

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