Imagine a mob pelting you with stones, assaulting you and threatening your life as you try to attend school. On Sept. 23, 1957 nine high school students in Arkansas did not have to imagine. Nine black high school students, now known as the Little Rock Nine, would be the first African Americans to attend Little Rock’s Central High but not without facing struggle and racism.
In the summer of 1957, the city of Little Rock made plans to desegregate its public schools. The nine brave students were selected from a pool of 117 candidates by the local school, who took into account the students’ grades and their likely ability to withstand the taunts of their white classmates. Terrence Roberts was one of them and entered Central High School as a junior. He had hopes of changing the uniformed racist opinions of the white students through his personality.
Dr. Roberts will share his “Lessons from Little Rock” and school desegregation at the 14th Annual Leonardo Dorantes Lecture, Wednesday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the Garvin Theatre.
“Primary would be the fact that the people who opposed us going to school felt that it was the right thing to do,” Roberts said. “They think that it is right even if their beliefs go against federal law or moral law.”
Throughout the school year, those students faced physical and verbal assaults from white students, as well as death threats against themselves, their families, and other members of the black community.
People prefer mono-racial or mono-cultural lives, Roberts said. “Most Americans live in communities that mirror their lives. It was true in Little Rock in 1957 and America in 2004.”
Through the struggle, the courageous actions of the Little Rock Nine had helped open the door of education for African Americans all across the nation.
On that fateful Monday, Little Rock policemen and about 1,000 onlookers surrounded Central High. The police escorted the nine black students to a side door where they quietly entered the building before classes were to begin.
Roberts said people were willing to sacrifice education in the name of supporting segregation. Today, Central High School is a National Historic Site and a national emblem of the often-violent struggle over school desegregation.
Because of Central High’s closure during the 1958-1959 school year, Roberts and his family moved to California where he spent his senior year at Los Angeles High School in California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from California State University at Los Angeles, his Master’s degree in social welfare from UCLA and his Ph. D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University.
He currently teaches at both the University of California and Antioch College in Los Angeles. He also has a private clinical psychology practice and is the CEO of Terrence J. Roberts & Associates management-consulting firm.
This lecture series was established in honor of Leonardo Dorantes, who was tragically killed in Santa Barbara in an assault with strong racial overtones. The series goal is to educate individuals concerning the issues of racism, ethnicity, and diversity in our society, and to encourage the development of healthy and positive attitudes towards all cultures.