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Greetings from charming Montgomery, Alabama. It’s been a long trip from small town California, and I’m starting to wonder why I came here in the first place. I’m tired and exhausted, but I was determined to meet Dr. King. Anyway, as I made my way through the south, I noticed quite a few differences. First of all, I don’t think I’ve seen another Asian person since I left California, let alone another Vietnamese person. I try n The south is really scary, though. The white folks really think so highly of themselves, but I’ve seen little to hold that pretentious attitude. I kept getting stares and whispers; they’re not afraid of hiding it either. It’s a good thing I brought a hat; maybe they could mistake me as a regular brunette. Still, I never talk to anyone unless I really have to. Anyway, when I arrived in Montgomery, the bus boycott already ended, so it’s probably a lot better than it was before. The bus driver still gave me a dirty look when I sat near the front, but he didn’t do anything. I should start sitting near the middle or something to keep a low profile, though. I’m still the only Asian within a thousand-mile radius. I was pretty excited when I reached the Kings’ residence. He really is good with words. I managed to pass my gratitude to him for his good deeds in erasing racism. He was surprised an Asian girl at such a young age came all the way here just to say such things, but I hope this will encourage him to keep it up. It will be a great day when the color of your skin does not affect who you are as a human being. Well, I hope to see you all soon. Sincerely, Vivian Le Dear Journal, Today hasn’t changed much ever since we’ve integrated. Of course, the army forces keep white folks from lynching us before we even reach school, but that’s probably the least of our worries for now. The riot was one jungle, our classroom is another. You know that I'm the only black senior of us nine, so most of the time it's as if I'm the only negro in the whole school when I'm in class. The teacher hardly ever picks on me, though. I feel pretty ignored because of it. I mean, sometimes I have things I'd like to share during discussions, but who wants to listen to a black kid, right? Even so, I have one friend in class. Well, sort of. He only talks to me when no one's looking. I guess I can't blame him; he probably wouldn't have any friends if he was seen associating with me. But he's still nicer than everyone else in this class. At least he only ignores me in public instead of picking on me for show. There is this one greasy, red-headed guy in my class that can't get enough of me. Everyday, I see him and his goons doing things to my desk before I come to class. At break, sometimes they'd surround me and start messing with my head. I try to avoid him when passing through the halls, since they'd all shove me to a wall or a trash can or something, and they've only called me "nigga" instead of my real name. Plus, the teachers are real reluctant to do anything about it; I bet some of them are amused, even. The guy started bullying me when I corrected him in class a week or so ago. He said the capital of Kansas was Kansas City; if only every state was as simple as Oklahoma. I swear, sometimes I wonder how some of my classmates ever made it to 12th grade, let alone high school. During lunch, I was talking to the other black kids as usual. I guess ever since Minniejean poured chilli on a white kid last December, other white kids were cautious of messing with us. But it's not like that stopped them completely. Minniejean did move to a different school, after all, so what could be better reward for bullying black kids? Anyway, today I found a bug in my sandwich. I should have known when the lunch lady pointed to some "special" selections for us. Red-head and the fellas got a real kick out of that. I couldn't eat for the rest of the day. Anyway, I'll talk to you later. I have to study for another test that's coming up next week. All my answers will be solid for sure. - Ernest Green. The Fresh Students of LR Central High Now this is a story all about how my In Little Rock, Arkansas born and raised Early in the morning, we got up to go Soon the national guard started driving us to school "Segregation Showdown At Little Rock" - Podcasts Summaries Walking to Class, Into the History Books The host interviews three of the Little Rock Nine: Melba Beals, Terrance Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford. First, Eckford discussed what it was like being a young African American student in an angry crowd of white people. Although no attempts to identify those involved in the riots, the white girl behind Eckford in that famous photo was identified as Hazel Bryant, a former student at Central High. They later met again in 1997, where Bryant apologized for her actions, but could not remember most of them due to amnesia. Eckford later learned that Bryant was part of an organized group that targeted integrating black students. Meanwhile, Roberts recalled when the national guard stood between the white mob and the nine students. White kids still could have sneaked behind and push or shove or whatever vile thing to them and runaway.
Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine The show chronicles the importance of Daisy Bates in the civil rights movement. Bates was the reporter for her husband's magazine. She and the NAACP took the Little Rock Nine to court so they could be integrated; she recruited the nine bright students. It was difficult for her because the school board encouraged black students to stay at the black high schools. But her charisma helped attract students to her cause. She wore stylish clothes and was one of the most sophisticated black women in town. They met at her house, the headquarters for the integration plan. On the first day of school, Governor Orval Faubis ordered the national guard to keep the students out of the school. But Eisenhower sent the army in to escort the students in, succeeding in integration. |
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Home | History | Math | Sources Created by Vivian Le. All images and content are copyrighted to their respective owners. |
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ot to talk to a lot of people since they all think I’m a “crazy Jap” or something. Whenever I see a war veteran, I run for the hills. 
