Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
United States | |
| Value | 1 U.S. Dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | 26.73 g |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Thickness | 2.58 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Composition | 90% Ag / 10% Cu |
| Years of minting | 2007 |
| Mintage | 66,093 Uncirculated 124,678 Proof |
| Mint marks | P |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Feet of the Little Rock Nine escorted by a soldier |
| Designer | Richard Alan Masters |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Little Rock Central High School in 1957 |
| Designer | Don Everhart |
The Little Rock Central High School Desegregation silver dollar is a commemorative coin issued by the United States Mint in 2007.[1] The coin commemorates the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School in the fall of 1957 when nine African-American students enrolled in the school in compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
The Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (Pub. L. 109–146 (text) (PDF)) was enacted into law on December 22, 2005.[2]
The obverse of the coin was designed by Richard Alan Masters and sculpted by Charles L. Vickers. It depicts students walking to school accompanied by an armed soldier with nine stars symbolic of the nine students.[1][3] The reverse was designed and engraved by Don Everhart and depicts Little Rock Central High School as it was in 1957.[1][3]
The coin won the Coin of the Year award from Numismatic News for Best Contemporary Event in 2009.[4]
The Mint began accepting orders on May 15.[5] A surcharge on each coin sold went to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site for preservation and restoration.[5][6] The uncirculated coin was included in a set with a bronze medal also commemorating the Little Rock Nine, designed by Marjorie Williams-Smith.[6] Of the 66,093 mintage total for the uncirculated pieces, 24,925 were sold as part of the coin and medal set.[7] The proof coin was also sold as part of the 2007 America Legacy Set, which included a proof set of all 14 circulating coins of 2007 and the Jamestown 400th Anniversary dollar.[6] Of the 124,678 mintage total for the proof pieces, 26,442 were sold as part of the American Legacy set.[7]
While mintage of the coin is relatively low, the coin is readily available in high grades for collectors.[3] Numismatic interest in the coin is low, with Anthony Swiatek describing the obverse as "voyeuristic" and that "the butt of an M1 Garand rifle leaves the viewer with little inspiration."[6]
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The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic decision Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, 1954. Tied to the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the decision declared all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and it called for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. After the decision, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, Arkansas, the school board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools, submitted a plan of gradual integration to the school board on May 24, 1955, which the board unanimously approved. The plan would be implemented during the fall of the 1957 school year, which would begin in September 1957. By 1957, the NAACP had registered nine black students to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High, selected on the criteria of excellent grades and attendance. Called the "Little Rock Nine", they were Ernest Green (b. 1941), Elizabeth Eckford (b. 1941), Jefferson Thomas (1942–2010), Terrence Roberts (b. 1941), Carlotta Walls LaNier (b. 1942), Minnijean Brown (b. 1941), Gloria Ray Karlmark (b. 1942), Thelma Mothershed (1940–2024), and Melba Pattillo Beals (b. 1941). Later, Ernest Green was the first African American to graduate from Central High School. When integration began on September 4, 1957, the Arkansas National Guard was called in to "preserve the peace". Originally at orders of the governor, they were meant to prevent the black students from entering due to claims that there was "imminent danger of tumult, riot and breach of peace" at the integration. However, President Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730, which federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them to support the integration on September 23 of that year, after which they protected the African American students.
This film features the nine black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, and describes the individual achievements of these students during the seven years that followed. The program also indicates, through specific cases, the progress of racial integration in the United States. The film received the 1965 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Directed by Charles Guggenheim and produced by Shelby Storck (Guggenheim Productions).
Nine from Little Rock is a 1964 American short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim about the Little Rock Nine, the first nine African-American students to attend an all-white Arkansas high school in 1957.
Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The school was the site of the Little Rock Crisis in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. This was during the period of heightened activism in the civil rights movement. Central is located at the intersection of Little Rock Nine Way (a section of Park Street, designated in September 2022) and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (formerly 14th Street). Bates was an African-American journalist and state NAACP president who played a key role in bringing about, through the 1957 crisis, the integration of the school. Central can trace its origins to 1869 when the Sherman School operated in a wooden structure at 8th and Sherman streets; it graduated its first class on June 13, 1873. In 1885 the Sherman School was moved to 14th and Scott streets and was named Scott Street School, but was more commonly called City High School. Five years later in 1890, the Peabody School was constructed at West Capitol and Gaines streets. It was named in honor of philanthropist George Peabody from US$200,000 received via the Peabody Education Fund. In 1905, the city founded Little Rock High School at the intersection of 14th and Cumberland streets, and shuttered the Peabody and Scott Street schools to serve as the city's sole public high school. Until 1957, only white students were permitted to be enrolled. In 1927 at a cost of US$1.5 million, the city completed construction on the nation's largest and most expensive high school facility, which remains in use today. In 1953 with the construction of Hall High School, the school was renamed as Little Rock Central High School. It has since been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and named as a U.S. National Historic Landmark and National Historic Site. Central High School, which covers grades 9 through 12, had an enrollment of 2,476 in school year 2020–2021. It is in the Little Rock School District, and serves sections of Little Rock and the entirety of Cammack Village. Nancy Rousseau was appointed principal in 2002, and retained that position as of 2024.
The Little Rock Central High School Desegregation silver dollar is a commemorative coin issued by the United States Mint in 2007. The coin commemorates the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School in the fall of 1957 when nine African-American students enrolled in the school in compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
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Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.