Difficult Decisions: The Little Rock 9

Eisenhower Presidential Library (indoor courtyard)

Guest speaker Dr. John Kirk will join us virtually to discuss what motivated the nine teenagers known as the Little Rock Nine. They were the central figures in the 1957 school desegregation crisis at Little Rock's Central High. This group of nine students faced a number of difficult decisions. They actively decided to not only attend a historically white school but to stay despite intimidation both inside and outside of the school. Their decision forced the federal courts and President Eisenhower to make decisions and take action in response.

Dr. John A. Kirk is the George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is an expert on the civil rights movement and has published 10 books. His works include Beyond Little Rock: The Origins and Legacies of the Central High Crisis and The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader.

The 2023 program series is made possible courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation with generous support from the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation.