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I had the pleasure of hearing Terrence Roberts, one of the "Little Rock Nine", share his experiences and two things really stuck with me. 1. There were over 100 students who signed up to go to Central High, but only 9 ended up there. He said he often wondered how different the experience would have been with larger numbers. 2. He mentioned that their parents should have been given awards for bravery as they sent their children to school each day not knowing if they would come home. This book was...
Well written, accessible and extremely interesting look at the school integration crisis in Little Rock from 1957 to 1959. I was familiar with the "Little Rock Nine", of course, but I did not realize the full complexity of the situation and the wide ranging events that took place. Definitely worth reading if you have any interest in the Civil Rights Movement.
I had hoped to learn more about the lives of the Little Rock Nine and the impacts of the schools being closed for a year, and while this book briefly touched on those topics, it spent so much time delving into the minutiae of the various laws and court cases that the rest got drowned out. An overall timeline would have been very helpful since parts of this jumped around and I had a hard time keeping track of how much time had elapsed. The central idea that the core of the anti-integration moveme...
I stayed up until 2:35 am this morning to finish this book once and for all. The book was mediocre in the sense that it was dense and, at times, boring with extraneous legal details of the Little Rock Nine Crisis. I was hoping to learn more about the nine individuals as characters. If you want to know more about their endeavors, read Chapter 17, which is the last chapter.
It took me a very long time to read this book. The details were overwhelming (and often boring). Still, I know more now than I’ve ever known about the Little Rock Central High crisis. If you just want to expose yourself to the most impactful parts, read chapter 12 and the Afterword.
reads like textbook
A trip to Little Rock rekindled my interest in the story of the Little Rock Nine. I researched to learn more and discovered Turn Away Thy Son. The book’s initial value to me was to fill in a lot of gaps regarding the people, officials, organizations and governments that were involved. But the real value of this book, published 50 years after the initial chaos, is to expand the story beyond the Little Rock Nine and their experiences to the social and political forces that influenced this behavior...