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��In Little Rock,
Clinton Warns
OfRacialSplit
\
By KEVIN SACK
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sept. 25 Speaking from the steps of Little
Rock Central High School, the same
steps climbed 40 years ago by nine
pathbreaking black students and
their paratrooper protectors, President Clinton warned Americans today of the dangers of racial separation and pleaded with them not to
give up on the idea of integration.
Although he offered no programmatic splutions, Mr. Clinton used the
40th- anniversary of the desegrega' tion of Central High to deplore that!
blapK •and white Americans, despite
the'abolition of legalized segregation, •
remain disturbingly isolated from
each other in their schools and in
their everyday lives.
With the nine former students sltUng ul lily sldi! and with an Integrated assemblage of students before
him, Mr. Clinton lamented that the
country's schools were resegregating, that the rollback of affirmative
action was denying minorities access to college and that Americans
only rarely associated with those of
another race. The White House regarded the address as a major
speech In what Is to be a yearlong
focus by Mr. Clinton on racial issues.
[Excerpts, page A20.]
In past addresses on the subject,
Mr. Clinton has emphasized that I
America today is more integrated
than ever. Today, however, in a
speech that his press secretary said
was "targeted at white America," he
offered a blunt critique of the counContiniied on Pnoe A?n
Continued From Page Al
try's separatist tendencies.
"Segregation is no longer the law,"
he said, "but too often separation is
still the rule."
Today's Central High School
served as a fitting metaphor for Mr.
Clinton's message. While the school
is statistically integrated, with a student body that is 40 percent white, its
honors classes, eating places and pep
rallies remain largely divided by
race.
"Today, children of every race
walk through tho HUIIU) door, but (hen
they often walk down different
IUIIIK," Mr. Clinton wild, "Not only hi
this school, but across America, they
sit in different classrooms, they eat
at different tables. They even sit in
different parts of the bleachers at the
football game.
"Far too many communities are
all white, all black, all Latino, all
Asian. Indeed, too many Americans
'Too often
separation is still the
rule,' the President
said in his message.
of all races have actually begun to
give up on the idea of integration and
the search for common ground."
Mr. Clinton was an ll-year-old stu- dent at Ramble Elementary, a segre- bee comforted her as they ushered
gated school in Hot Springs, Ark., 50 her through the doors.
The nine former students are Melmiles away, when the Integration crisis at Central High shook the coun-- ba Patillo Beals, 55, of Sausalito.
try. But despite his youth, Mr. Clin- Calif., a writer; Elizabeth Eckford,
ton said the black-and-white images 55, of Little Rock, who is unemployed
of white students abusing and har- and on disability; Ernest Green, 56,
u.sslng lliulr black couiilcrpiii Is left of Wiinhliiglon, D.C., n miinnjJlnK director of Lehman Brothers Investan indelible impression.
"We saw what was happening in ment bank; Gloria Ray Karlmark,
our own backyard and we had to deal; 54, of Vught, the Netherlands, a rewith it," Mr. Clinton said. " Where did , tired lawyer; Carlotta Walls LaNier,
we stand? What did we believe? How 55, of Englewood, Colo., a real estate
did we want to live? It was Little broker; Terrence D. Roberts, 55, of
Rock that made racial equality a Pasadena, Calif., the chairman of the
psychology department at Antioch
driving obsession in my life."
In Jronorlng the Little Rock Nine, University; Jefferson Thomas, 55, of
as tfye black students came to be Columbus, Ohio, a financial specialcalled, Mr. Clinton said, "Like so ist with the Department of Defense;
maJi'y Americans, I can never fully Ms. Trickey, 56, of Ottawa, Ontario, a
repay my debt to these nine people. social worker; and Thelma MothFor with their Innocence, they pur- ershed Wair, 56, of Belleville. 111., a
chased more freedom for me, too, retired educator.
and for all white people."
For Little Rock, this week's comIn returning to Little Rock today, memorative events have been thick
the President lent his stature and - with historical symmetry.
attendant national news reports to
Among those in the crowd today
the city's efforts to move beyond its was Mr. Clinton's Director of Cabipast, And by providing Mr. Clinton net Affairs, Thurgood Marshall Jr.,
with a poignantly symbolic setting, whose late father served as the lawCentral High gave the President an ^ yer for the Little Rock Nine. To set
ideal stage for addressing an issue' the musical mood before the event
thnt tho White Houso consldors n kny lodny, ilio Whllo llnuw mlvnnoc
compononl of IIIM logncy.
leam mixed bobby-soxer favoiltus
Pointing to civil wars and ethnic like the Beach Boys' "Be True to
cleansing around the world, Mr. Clin- Your School" with,rap standards like
ton warned that any country that Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit."
does not embrace its diversity will be
On Monday, Will Counts, a photogdoomed in the next century. "All of rapher who snapped a famous picus should embrace ethnic pride and ture in 1957 of a stoic Ms. Eckford
we should revere religious convic- being taunted by a belligerent white
tion," he said, "but we must reject girl, brought his two subjects togethseparation and isolation."
er for a tour of the new Central High
He asserted that discrimination visitors center, where the picture is
still exists in America. "There are prominently displayed.
still people who can't get over it, who
The white student, Hazel Bryan
can't let it go, who can't go through Massery, had apologized tp Ms. Eckthe day unless they have somebody ford in a telephone conversation five
else to look down on," he said. He years after the incident. But the two
added: "In so many ways, we still had never met until this week.
hold ourselves back. We retreat into
Ms. Massery said in an interview
the comfortable enclaves of ethnic that she has been ashamed by the
Isolation. We just don't deal with photograph, which she said had cappeople who are different from us." tured her saying "Go home nigger."
Indeed, the state and local chap" I was an immature 15-year-old,"
ters of the N.A.A.C.P. boycotted to- she said. "That's the way things
day's events because they maintain were. I grew up in segregated society
that little progress has been made and I thought that was the way it was
over the last 40 years.
and that's the way it should be."
On Sept. 25, 1957, in one of the Now, she said, she wants "to be the
seminal events of the civil rights link between the past and the future.
movement, the Little Rock Nine fi- I don't want to pass this along to
nally passed through the majestic another generation."
front doorway of Central High School
Of today's speakers, it fell to Mr.
under the protection of Federal Huckabee, Arkansas' Republican
troops dispatched by President Governor, to issue the strongest deDwight D. Eisenhower. Their en- nunciation of his state's past sins.
trance Into the school followed a
"Today we come to say once and
tense three-week standoff created by for all that what happened here 40
Gov. Orval E. Faubus's decision to years ago was simply wrong," he
call out the Arkansas National said. "It was evil, and we renounce it.
Guard to prevent the court-ordered Wlial Ilic pcoplti did who li lml lo hold
Intcgrullon of the scliool,
llioso nine from entering Ihe doors of
When the NtudontR first trlud to llilu lilgli fU'lloo) In fulKlvjiWi', bill II IN
CMIICT tlitl scliool, on Supi. 4, Uiuy wcru i
not excusable."
turned away by a furious white mob I Mr. Huckabee said the state should
that greeted them with racist epi- I celebrate its racial progress, but acthets and threats of violence. And knowledged that it still has a long
throughout their first year at Cen- way to go.
tral, the students were assaulted,
To those Arkansans who ask how
both physically and verbally.
long the state will have to deal with
Only one of the nine lives in Little the 40-year-old legacy of Little Rock,
Rock today. But the other eight re- he said: "Until justice is the same
turned7drTHe"c6mmem6ration, just for every human being, whether he
as they had 10 years ago when Gov- or she is black or white we will deal
ernor Clinton invited them into the with it. Until the same rules apply to
Governor's Mansion where Mr. Fau- get a bank loan for every person
bus had once plotted against them.
regardless of who he or she is, we
In the dramatic denouement of to- will deal with it. As long as there are
day's ceremony, the nihe former stu- whites who turn around and see a
dents, some with gray hair and black person coming and it brings
beards, ambled slowly up the fear to their hearts, we'll deal with it.
school's steps and through the front And as long as there are blacks who
doors, as Mr. Clinton, Gov. Mike have resentment toward a white perHuckabee of Arkansas, and Mayor son, we'll deal with it."
Jim Dalley of Little Rock held them
open. As one of the nine, Minnijean
Brown Trickey, walked across the
threshold, she was overcome with
emotion. Mr. Clinton and Mr. Hucka1
o
CQ
Ui
Q
>,
—
l
1
�desegregation case. "It's about the
city of Little Rock and the Chamber
of Commerce bringing in money...
to better the power structure. This
is just hype, a public relations sort of
thins:, to Ray, Wc wnnt to AIIOW the
world (but UtUe Kock lit on tlie wuy
to solving the problem.' ... They
want you to believe that"
Little Rock Marks Civil Rights Milestone As part of this week's festivities,
the city opened a small visitor's
center in a renovated Mobil gas
By Peter Baker
station across the street from the
WashimrtrniPosI Staff Wrilrr
high school, and plans a full-scale
LITTLE ROCK, Sept. 25—From the outside, the museum recounting the acrimony
building looks much the same, a massive fortress of of that school year. The school and
brick and stone. The tall, arched doorways are still the surrounding neighborhood
watched over by four statues labeled Ambition, Personal- were spruced up with paint and
landscaping, and city elders hope to
ity, Opportunity and Preparation.
But this time when nine black children of the Old put the site on the tourism map of
South slowly mounted the steps of Central High School, the civil rights era;
there was no jeering white mob, no soldiers with
Centra] High was an emotional
bayonets, no governor vowing to stop them. Instead, the touchstone in its time. In the wake
current governor and a former governor, now the of the Supreme Court's ruling, nine
president of the United States, held open the glass-paned black students were chosen to be
wooden doors to welcome them inside.
the first to attend Central High in
The symbolic gesture was intended as a powerful the fall of lOSy.'only to be turned
statement of racial progress in America, a momcnl that away at tlie door.
President Clinton today called "unbelievable," and in
The staunch segregationist Gov.
1957 it would have been. Forty years to the day after Orval E. Faubus (6) called out the
those terrified teenagers integrated Arkansas' all-white Arkansas National Guard to prevent
flagship school under military escort, the "Little Rock the studentsfromenrolling, setting
Nine" returned to mark one of the most dramatic off a tense standoff with President
episodes in U.S. history—and at the same time provoke aDwight D. Eisenhower, who ultisoul-searching examination of how far the nation has mately federalized the Guard and
come since then.
dispatched another 1,000 troops
"At this schoolhouse door today, let us rejoice in the from the 101st Airborne Division to
S e PRESIDENT, A8, Col. 1
e
enforce a court order admitting the
students.
PRESIDENT, From A1
The grainy, black-and-white telelong way we have come these 40 vision imagesfromthose days were
years," said Clinton, who was an
etched upon the consciousness of a
11-year-old boy in a segregated
generation, including those of a
school 50 miles away in Hot Springs young Bill Clinton—(he snarling
at the time.
mob, the threats of Ijmching, the
However, warning of resegrega- pained but proud expression of 15tion, he added, "Let us resolve to year-old Elizabeth Ectford as she
stand on the shoulders of the little silently faced those whoi spat on her
Rock Nine and press on with confi- because of her color, " t was Little
dence in the hard and noble work
Rock that made racial equality a
ahead."
driving obsession in my life," Clinton said.
The anniversary of the Little
Getting in the door ms not the
Rock dispute came in the middle of
Clinton's year-long campaign for ra- end of the turmoil for the students,
cial reconciliation, and the conver- though. Throughout that,firstyear,
sation that has taken place in his .they found themselves shunned,
shoved against locker* tripped
home state in recent weeks has
vividly exposed the sorts of trouble- down stairways. "The larger comsome issues that confront the presi- munity immediately began assaultdent in translating high-minded in- ing our character, our bodies, in an
attempt to suffocate our spirits, to
tentions into concrete results.
drive us backfromwhere we came,"
The willingness to call attention
to the volatile battle over integration recalled Ernest Green, wh* became
indicates that this once-provincial perhaps the best known of the Little
southern city finally is ready to Rock Nine through a television
come to grips with its past, accord- movie made about his life. "I beljeve
ing to civic leaders. Yet, to some now as I did then, they didnt really
,
local African Americans, all the know us."
pomp has a sour taste—a "farce," in They do now. The names,of
the words of the NAACP—at a time Green, Eckford, Melba Pattllio
when race still divides little Rock Beals, Terrence Roberts and the
and the country. The executive com- others are part of history. One by
mittee of the little Rock Branch of one today they approached the door
the NAACP voted not to support or that was once such a barrier and
participate in the Central High cele- were greeted warmly by Clinton and
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (Rj.
bration.
"Ifs not about race relations and Minnflean Brown Trickey was so
reconciliation," said Joy Springer, overwhelmed she reached out to
40, a paralegal who participates as a the president and Huckabee for
monitor in a long-running school support as she entered the building.
At. Central High, however, the
story of the last four decades is far
more compUcated than the starkly
See PRESIDENT, A9, Col. I
40 Years Later,
9 Are Welcomed
s
v
/
1/
�PRESIDENT, From A8
f
:contrasting scenes at the schoolhouse door might suggest. Nearly
two-thirds of the 1,800 students toIday.are black, including the student
diddy president, as well as the princi:pal.
Xt The school is highly celebrated
Tfw-jits academic prowess. Students
tofc both races appear to get&long
tatniably enough.
•Wit used to be black and white, you
Wouldn't even talk with them, you
ctfoiildn't even be friends with them,"
Tskid Michael Bell, a 16-year-old jutfior who is white. "Now everyone,
s^e're all buds."
For nil of lhat, however, black auftd
vWliltc students still tend lb socialize
separately and accelerated fTfr.
grams for high achievers mean that
many still sit in all-white or all-black
classrooms.
Despite their overall numbers,
African Americans occupy just 13
percent of the seats in advanced
classes and, in general, they tend t6
score worse, drop out more often
and draw more discipline than their
white classmates.
,
"We have a long way to go," said
Cassandra Jones, a 15-year-old
sophomore who is black. There are
still teachers when you go into class
they discriminate against you."
"At lunch," added her friend, Robbie Sanders, 15, "all the white people are sitting down in the picnic
area and all the black people are all
inside in line."
It was that sort of phenomenon
that Clinton had in mind today as Be
warned that "our schools in America are resegregating" during an
address to several thousand students, alumni and city residents
who gathered on the lawn before
the stately 70-year-old school.
Today children of every race
walk through the same door, but
then they often walk down different
halls," he said. "Not only in this
school but across America, they sit
in different classrooms, they eat at
different tables, they even sit in
different parts of the bleachers at
the football game.
"In so many ways, we still hold
ourselves bark. We retreat into the
comfortable enclaves of ethnic isolation. We just don't deal with people
who are different from us. Segrega-
tion is no longer the law, but too
often separation is still the rule."
The president was thrown off his
stride for part of his speech by a
handful of shouting protesters who
held up signs and chanted in favor of
better access for people with disabilities. An exasperated Clinton tried
to talk over the screams and then
pleaded for them to be quiet, only to
be ignored.
Sharing the stage with him today
were all nine of the students, now
middle-aged and living around the
world, as well as Daisy Bates, the
NAACP leader who helped them. In
the audience were the widow and
son of the late Supreme Court Justire Thurgood Mnrshall, who won
the case.
Also on hand was a white woman
whose hatred-filled face appeared in
one of the most famous of the 1957
photos, offering her apologies for
her actions on a day dedicated to
healing.
Today we come to say, once and
for all, that what happened here 40
years ago was simply wrong," Huckabee said. "It was evil. And we
renounce it."
A minister, he added that white
churches must accept their share of
the blame. "Never, never, never,
never again will we be silent when
people'srightsare at stake."
0
FOR M R INFORMATION'*
OE
To read articles on Clinton's race
initiatives, click on the above symbol
on thefrontpage o}The Post's Web
site at www. washingtonpost. com
t,V
�Little Rock Nine welcomed back as heroes
Commemoratioii becomes
forum on race relations
By Susan Page
USA TODAY
LITTLE ROCK — Forty
years ago, nine black teenagers
walked up the stone steps of
Central High School surrounded by Army paratroopers who
escorted them through an angry, jeering mob.
On Thursday, President Clinton and Gov. Mike Huckabee
held open the school's polished
wood-and-glass doors for the
nine now-graying adults as
thousands of people on the rolling lawn stood and applauded.
Overcome by emotion, a
tearful Minnijean Brown
Trickey paused and reached
out to the two men for support
before passing the threshold.
"They climbed these steps,
walked through this door and
moved our nation," Clinton
said. "They persevered, and
they prevailed."
The Little Rock Nine, who
once had to use court orders
and troops armed with bayonets to enter white-only Central
High School, returned as heroes. The 40th anniversary
commemoration at the now-integrated school became a forum for what remains to be
done on race relations.
"Segregation is no longer the
law, but too often, separation is
still the rule," Clinton said. "We
retreat into the comfortable
enclaves of ethnic isolation."
He decried the fact that
many Americans live in singlerace neighborhoods, attend single-race schools and forge
friendships only with those of
their own race.
"Today children of every
race walk through the same
door, but then they often walk
down different halls," he said.
"Not only in this school but
across America, they sit in different classrooms, they eat at
different tables.... Indeed, too
many Americans of all races
have actually begun to give up
on the idea of integration and
the search for common
ground."
In fact, the Arkansas
NAACP boycotted the commemoration to protest problems with police brutality and
city contracts with minority-
By W i n M c N j . - .
40 years later President Clinton helps a tearful Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the nine former
students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, through the school's front door Thursday.
owned businesses. And in an bombing were parked outside
apparent protest involving an- two abortion clinics here
other divide in U.S. politics, a Thursday, touching off bomb
pair of trucks similar to the one scares. No bombs were found.
used in the Oklahoma City
The speech was the latest in
USA TODAY • hi- -,AY. SEPTEMBER 26, 1997
a series Clinton has give:: this
year on race, an issue he has
promised to make a foc-js of
his second term. After describing the problem of the r.adon's
racial divide, however, he
didnt detail solutions.
Aides say that process may
begin at a meeting in Washington on Tuesday that Clinton
will attend with his advisory
commission on racial reconciliation. The White House also is
making tentative plans for the
president to address a national
"town hall" meeting on race in
early December.
Clinton was 11 yeare old and
attending a segregated setjool
30 miles away, in Hot Springs,
when the integration of Central
High School became a national
symbol of the civil rights struggle. Gov. Orval Faubus ordered
the Arkansas National Guard
co keep the black students from
enrolling.
In a historic confrontation
chat came to a head on Sept. 25,
1957, President Eisenhower
dispatched 1,000 paratroopers
from the Army's 101st Airborne Division. The troops escorted the nine students to
school through crowds of protesters who spat on them and
waved Confederate flags.
"Today we come to say,
once and for all, that what happened here 40 yeare ago was
simply wrong," Huckabee,
Faubus* modem-day successor
and a Baptist minister, declared. "It was evil and we re-
nounce i t Ernest Green, one of the LitUe Rock Nine who now is a
Washington-based investment
banker, said it was "gratifying
beyond words to see we can
come together on the same plot
of common ground, Central
High School, with the knowledge that... we are fundamentally much more alike than we
are different."
Standing in the back of the
crowd at the ceremony, watching quietly, was Hazel Massery.
She has publicly apologized for
her role 40 years ago as a white
student who joined in the harassment of the black students,
captured in one of the incident's most famous photos.
Also listening were hundreds of current Central High
School students.
" I t was pretty brave of
them," Jordan Bradford, 15, a
sophomore who is white, said
of the Little Rock Nine.
"It's important because back
in 1957 there was a screaming
mob and nobody would let
them in," said Miranda Pride,
16, an African-American junior
who was wearing the blue-andgold uniform of the school's
marching corps.
"They're being welcomed
now," said her cousin, Yumica
Pride, 15, a sophomore.
�ihe tan : fnday, September 26,1997 : PageQV
"I
P ei e t l a s
r sd n e d
crmn h n rn
ee o y o oi j
Little Rc N e
ok i
n
Clinton laments
lingering voluntan
racial segcegation
LOS A R O I L U T I K E S
Presidential hug: Ernest Green, one of the Little Rock Nine, is embraced by President Clinton at Uttle Bock
Central High School yesterday as classmates Gloria Ray Karlmark (left) and Carlotta Walls LaNier applaud.
LITTLE ROCK, Art - Decades after their bid to ercs: an allwhite school sparked me of the
most volatile state-fea^al conflicts since the Civil V-'ir, nine
black men and women s:aied the
steps of Uttle Rock Cenrral High
once again.
But unlike the day i t :!S7 when
the "Little Rock N n f were
greeted by a violent, sprang mob
outside the school, yes-.enay the
mayor, governor and prudent of
the United States show.: up to
welcome them as heroes
"Forty years ago, the; limbed
these steps, passed thmigh this
door, and moved ou: nation,"
President Clinton tolc veering
onlookers, most bom lonf irter an
Arkansas governor hac :eployed
the National Guard in t luile effort to block integration n'zhe imposing,five-storyschooi
"And for that we mus; ul thank
them."
At the emotional se-smony,
CUnton — a former ArkmHas governor — and others tnec -.o sum
up the lasting significan:^ of the
students' efforts.
"If one young person mt there
has seen the story of -.ie Little
Rock Nine and can take rnm it a
belief that he or she cai ipen a
door, succeed against un Jdds ...
I
the Little Rock Nim become
the Uttle Rock 10. the I t nmdred.
the 10
, the 10 millior.' ;aid Er-
D.C. pe ae f r Po ie Ke es rafly
rp rs o r ms epr
At least 500,000 men
expected on Mall Oct. 4
r r i j t f s ^ w w •••>•••
Emergency Preparedness.
-This city will be inundated
with people."
"Every stone has been turned
over to assure things are handled
the right way," he said. "We will be
ASSOCIATED PRESS
able to deal with any incidents
WASHINGTON — At least that arise."
500,000 men — and possibly more
Jordan invited reporters to a
than a million — are expected to briefing on the logistics of the
attend next month's Promise event and steps being taken to enKeepers prayer meeung on the sure security, adequate transporNational Mall, city officials said tation, communications and
yesterday.
health and safety.
A crowd of such magnitude
Officials predicted that space
would rank the Oct. 4 gathering, will need to be found for more than
called "Stand in the Gap: a Sacred 5.000 buses and said that, as of
Assembly of Men," among the Wednesday, 4,100 buses had regislargest events in the capital's his- tered.
tory.
They predicted that more than
"We see at least a half-million, 70.000 private cars will stream into
and it may be going over a million," the district and said that 56,000
said Samuel H. Jordan, head of parking spaces have been identithe District of Columbia's Offlce of fied throughout the region.
The Washington-area Metro
rail service will open at 4 ajn. to
accommodate early arrivals. Officials said that more than 150,000
fare cards have been purchased in
advance.
The six-hour event is scheduled
to open at noon.
Promise Keepers Is a fundamentalist Christian group organized in 1990 that says it has drawn
2.6 million to revival meetings In
football stadiums across the country over the pastfiveyears.
Contributions to the organization have risen from $4 million in
1993 to $87 million in 1996.
The 1995 Million Man March attracted an estimated 870,000 to 1.1
million black men, although early
lower counts generated controversy.
The crowds attending the bicentennial fireworks display In
1976 were estimated at 1 million.
nest O. Green, who after entering
Central went to college at Michigan State University and today-is
managing director of the LehrnSln
Bros, investment firm in Washington.
In 1957. Arkansas Gov. Orval E.
Faubus temporarily blocked the
nine from enrolling at Central l y
calling out the National Guard, an
act of brazen defiance th^t
prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to respond with 1.300
Army paratroopers from Fort
Campbell, Ky.
"•'
Clinton cautioned that the nation's schools are again becoming
segregated and lamented that
students separate themselves by
race in cafeterias and at sportthg
events.
'"
Clinton was an ll-year-old living in Hot Springs, he recalled,
"self-absorbed" In his own Ike,
when the explosive events 50 milks
away forced him to think seriously
about civil rights because "we saw
what was happening in our own
back yard, and we all had to deal
with It."
T
"It was UtUe Rock," Clinton
went on, "that made racial equality a driving obsession In my life. •
"I want all these children here
to look at these people," he continued, nodding toward the nine
guests of honor, all tn their mjil50s, who were seated nearby.
"They persevered. They endured.
And they prevailed. But It waslat
greatcostto themselves."
'•
Members of local chapters 'of
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored PeoJSle
boycotted yesterday's event, saying a festive flavor was InappropHate tn light of continuing problems
for blacks in UtUe Rock.
:
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�V O L U M E 2S2 • N U M B E R HH
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112 pages
50 cents
Tim
H
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1997
ii'-'-'W^Mrt happened here changed the course ofour country forever.'
PRESIDENT CLINTON AT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL IN LITTLE ROCK. ARK.
mind'H eye a* schoolchildren. iisccniK'd Ihe stepn
orCi'ntrul IIIKII Schuol. climeil lu Ihi'in t'niir ilcc
By Ann Salts
^-
.
(iMiTTLli
luii'rt u^n H l l h ' lllllliill lu-Klin It
H
HOCK, Ark. - Thin Umo, no miKry
• I l l l ^ luillln
milmn." rit'SHlcnt Clinlon s:ii(l. "Wli;it li;i|i)H.'in'(l
here i-liiin^ril tlir CIHII ..I' nf nm niiinlry fiu cM'i
An II,' n|.ikr, lllr Llllll' K I K I I Nine. Hi lln'.V nr.'
,
known, all In ( M r mld-Mh, u l on Hie ilaiii'
oveir InbiKraUnx |ililillc X IIIHIIH.
• • >£i J [plilieu,»iidiiob«yoii«tTho event yuKUinlny Joined AincricM l>!ll*cy •carrul oinofJonally in f f n f i M p n ^ i by Uie oim i ^ - i i n ^ 3 ^ t ^ V i f ' r^"*/* ' ," . "T * dlKrimliution with a pronjtye of Inv-/
*"
rt^lJS^M«SS5BS^aBi^'thl»'dini'"'piOTed
race
relatloiu In the aame plapt a m^or';
' ' ' '.'jdvilright*atruggle began - at thlaVluylhgilte i
it'^C,the Umled'States, held open the :: door' i-'r
^••^' :<I':I^-: them; E i n S ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ w o f lieh"Forty years ago today, they cllmhed these man Brotherjinyeitibeniiajlt .Washington, la,
'^^^KANSAS,PageA22
"-•'Jl moment later, nine people,frozenin the steps, paased through this door, and moved our
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�THEUOSTONCUJUK • Kill DAY. SEPTKMBKU 26,1997
"Willi the yiaivete of youth ive still hoped that maybe, just maybe, wlien we. got to
the front door we would be met with openness instead of opposition.'
KKNKSTGKKb'N.onr i>/(*» Link Kock Nine
Nine who integrated Little Rock school are feted
• ARKANSAS
Continued from Page Al
a close friend of Clinton's who ha* become
entangled in the Democratic fund-raising in' •vestigation.
Another. Elizabeth Eckford, a former
Army public information specialist is unemployed and still lives in Utile Rock. She was
the only one of the nine who came akme to
school on Sept 24. 1957. Her parents didn't
.have a phone, so she didn't know afl the stu"dents were supposed to meet and go togeth(
*.
"She was turned away by people who
I^were afraid of change, instructed by igno' /ranee, hating what they simply cou^d not un^derstand," Clinton said. "And America saw
* ^her, haunted and taunted for the ample col'"or of her skin, and in the image w* caught a
^ - very disturbing glimpse of ourseh es."
i* ?
Many in this dty. especially wthes, some
'i*of whose angr>- faces are shown in film foot^lage from the episode, did not want the com.i Imemoration to Lake place. Addressing that
fact directly, the state's Republican governor, Mike Huckabee, said. There are those
who perhaps hoped that this evem wouldn't
take place because it only might open up old
wounds.
:
"But we come today because it's important to have tension every now and then.
After all, it is tension that builds ocr muscles
and gives us strength. And if it is necessary
for us to have some tension in order that we
• can change things, then tension can be a . . .
..'positive thing for us," he said.
As the ceremony began, the names of the
Little Rock Nine were read as they stepped
out, one by one, from a side door and stood
together with their backs against the wall in
front of the school, some of them holding
hands, before taking their seats.
Back in the summer of 1957. they were
i' among 18 students chosen from a field of 80
From aflare,a bomb scare
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A bomb-sniffing dog triggered false alarms outside
two abortion clinics in Little Rock yesterday, shortly before President Clinton
spoke on race relations a few miles away.
Bomb units rushed to examine trucks
outside two abortion clinics in the city
after the dog, named Nero, smetied something suspicious and alerted its handlers.
Surrounding office buildings and
stores were evacuated but no explosive
devices were found.
to integrate Little Rock's best high school to
comply with the 1954 US Supreme Court decision outlawing school desegrgation. By
September, the others had withdrawn their
names, leaving only the nine.
But Governor Orval Faubus called out
the National Guard to prevent them from
entering Central High. The next day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the
Arkansas National Guard and sent in the
101st Airborne Division to enforce the federal desegregation order.
Green, who spoke for the group at the
ceremony, said, "Even though we had been
warned what we would face, with the naivete
of youth we still hoped that maybe, just maybe, when we got to the front door we would
be met with openness instead of opposition."
The others were Melba Pattillo Beals,
Gloria Ray Karlmark. Carlotta Walls Lanier,
Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown
Trickey, Thelma Jean Mothershed Wair and
Jefferson Thomas.
His voice cracking, he said, "Nothing that
Police said the false aJarms were
caused by highway flares U?r. in the back
of both trucks.
T h e flares contain mate^-ial which can
be used in the manufacture- of an explosive device," said Waver Jordan, a
spokesman for the Arkansi.- state police.
T h e dog did its job."
Both clinics were severiJ miles away
from where CUnton later Iwi a ceremony
commemorating the 40th anniversary of
the integration of Central ffigh School.
Investigators Inspect a track parted ooslde an abortion clinic In Uttle Rock, A r t I
I can say today can truly convey the magnitude of that moment There- are no words to
express fully the sense of respect and reverence 1 feel then or now for my parents . . .
and the other parents, too."
He said the students' ijarents "may not
have been scholare, but tbey demonstrated
startling intellect They were able to see the
paths, the moment They -a-ere able to see
the difference between Ihe American dream
and the American reality."
Clinton, who was 11 years old at the time
and living 50 miles away ic Hot Springs, told
the crowd: "Imagine, all of you, what it
would be like to come to scaool one day and
be shoved against lockers tripped down
stairways, taunted day a r ^ r day by your
classmates, to go all thro&rh school with no
hope of going to a school play or being on a
basketball team or leammt: in simple peace."
As a group of disabled people protesting
the lack of access ramp? at Central High
School began to shout for equal rights, Clinton said, "Speaking of simple peace, I'd like a
little of it today."
A person who could have been iz* ther
distraction for Clinton was in the auitnee:
Attorney General Janet Reno. She L- •onducting a 30-day review of Clinton'? .- ie in
raising funds for his reelection to de:^-nine
if he improperly made calls from thr Viite
House to solicit donations.
Reno was among several Cabins members, including the secretaries of traniry nation, labor and education and m e n : : ^ of
the president's advisory panel on r a ^ •..> attend the commemoration. Reno said m had
been invited by the White Houie and i i not
feel awkward being there.
In his speech, Clinton said. 'Sepancon is
no longer the law, but too often, ser-e-ition
still is the rule. And we cannot (ore?, one
stubborn fact that has not yet been raid as
cleariy as it should: There is still dL^nnination in America," he said as the CTTTT applauded.
After he spoke, Clinton, Hucka:*- and
Little Rock Mayor Jim Daley waike: half-
way up the school steps. They were foHj sd
by the Little Rock Nine, and they all gj ?d
for pictures.
Then Clinton and Huckabee waUtofiip
the remaining steps and opened the farvwn
wood doors with square glass panes, doors
that many other blacks have walked throogh
in the last 40 years.
*
"Imagine what would have been different
about our history if the president, the governor and the mayor had greeted the L i t i e
Rock Nine at the front door rather than this
raging, racist mob," said Leonard Zaldm of
the New England Region of the Anti-Defamation League and an invited guest
As the president and governor held
opened the door, the Little Rock Nine began
walking in. some strutting with their heads
held high. Trickey, a counseling coordi^tor
at a community center in Ottawa, w a | so
overu-helmed with emotion that she sa^ply
held out her arms and let Clinton and Hjckabee usher her in.
�KEEPING THE DOORS OPEN
.Clinton celebrates
.Htde Rock legacy
in war on racism
v
9y Kathy Uwu
- i n d Scott Parkf
. > t L r m J i u o i K. Aik - i-iui.i.m
^qiuloa JraM Ulbuu TlluriHlay tu
iwe UttUBoclcNliia, who Imegrai<MCaotraI High School la 1957, but
J j n caiitlnniKt that 'racial problama
'lijirplagtia Amarka 40 yaan later.
^-^"SflgragBtJon la- DO longer the
' • NAACP branch protests. 19A
law, but too often, separation la still
the rule,' he said during the Wth
t annlvenary comiaemoratloq of In> tsgratkm at the schooL
" "That theme — all that has
changed^ao^aUyhat^haf ^tpt —
studanta, utcorTod by VU. •uldutrs,
braved a taunting while mob and
UnaUy entered the all-white high
•• school.
The ceramonj took place on the
.. steep steps of Central High, an Im^ podng brick building. In a symbolic
Cgoatnre, Ur. nintnn and Arkansas
.. door open for the former students
•who ones needed federal troops to
^ j u k a that aame journey.
' VTh* Ltals Rock Integration cri;'i^s v u to become one of the first of
.Jtjuany tense confrontations between
'^segregationists and c^/ll rights adiVjncatas In the 19901 and '603,
Tarty yean later, we know
;tbsr« an stlU more doors to be
]>cpened, doors to be opened wider,
i & c n we have to keep from being
^•>mt gggjj] now," said Ur. Clinton.
? ^ k r . nintnr said ths quaouan of
rjMas ass CLINTON on Page ISA.
ife^rj-V^"^
President. Clinton, with Uttle Rock, Ark,
Mayor Jim Dalley looklnj'on, greets Thel-
m^iMoth^^fWalr.^-^^e^Mten^the
-tntii^ov'^^a^^mltSI^
etoric of race remains angry
Shut has grown in Complexity
undarstan^ (h« /ury In your words, but
:'»( Uu words.''
- OthaJto
' - By Allen Pusey
- - Pony yean ago, the words were angry
and ugly. Party yean later, though the faces
have changed, the rhetoric of race Is angry
and ugly •un
In 1957, they wars directed at nine black
- jtudanU aotsrtog Csolral High School In
litUa Rock. Raw words of auger and Ignorance. The unctuous'warnlngs of ambitious
bigots. Words with the very odd virtue of
Rising nnamblguotu.
Go homsf
Lynch her/
Blood will run In Ihe ttrctttl
Nluerl Ntitcrl Nluerl tUss'rl
Words.
In tha Dallas and Texas of the late 1990a,
the rhetoric of race is Just as angry, but
considerably more complex. It has survived
the kinds of changes that have swept the
nation's schoolrooms In the past four decades — Ihe court orders, busing and while
rilghl thai have faahlonad Dallu ndHxiln,
Uu Mill Umaliii Hit* M *w
Into an American urbnfl dilemma.
/
The school board has clashed openlr Tanya Corbln, 17, Crystal Brooks, 16, and
Pleaie see.DEMOGRAPHIC on Page 18A. / Patience Barton, 16, listen to the president
C^UMgonti.,^
F r i d a v
, September 26, 1997
�BI In
"Clinton visits Central High, recalls integration by Little Rock Nine
He was interrupted at one point by
who were afraid of change, insm-teti
dgniiiioed from Page LA.
by ignorance, hating what thrr smply a handful of noisy protesters who
race Is more complex and more imporcould not understand," he san ' uni were unhappy over facilities for the
^tapttlum ever and loday involves "not
America saw ber, haunted an; mint- disabled at Central High.
•jost btacto and whites or blacks and
Another band of protesters orgaed for the simple color of A i l . aui JX
whites and Hispanics and Native
the Image we canght a very deal ime, nized by the Uttle Rock NAACP pickAmericans."
eted in front of the schooL They said
glimpse cf ourselves."
j " He also spoke ot paMic schools that
their goal was to remind people that
But while he said the nine met >; racism still Is alive and well in UtUe
'krt resegregating for the first time
thanked for their courage, m aid Rock.
4ncc the ISSQs and the roflbock of
their parents must also be hemo-si.
affirmative action that he said was
And, in what police said was a
uTrifflnming shut the doors of higher
"As Heanor Roosevelt said rf turn. protest linked to the president's visit
education aa a new generatkn."
To give your child for a canst a m a to Uttle Rock, someone parked yellow
_ Those who oppose afflrmattve aoharder than to give yourselt •
rental trucks like the one used in the
tion, he added, hare not yet pat forEmest Green, one of the n m aid Oklahoma Qty bombing at two aborward any other aitEmative.
of the parents, "With dear m n m i T , tion Hinirs sparking bomb scares and
Mr. Qintoti said too many Amerithey chose the path that woulc mue a evacuations. What a bombsnifflng
cansof aD races had begun to give tip
difference not only for my gerg-rrim. dog indicated might be explosives Inon integration.
but for generattoas to follow
side both trucks were found to t>e only
,,;rnoday. children of every race
"They may not have been anuian residue from roadside flares. The
walk through the same door, but then
but they demonstrated stantm; met trucks were discovered less than two
they often walk down difiaent halb.
lect They were able to see thi saUs, hours before Mr. Clinton spoke at the
Not only in this school bat across
the moment"
Central High ceremonies.
America, they sit In difierent dassFamily menfhets of the nm; ome
Several Cabinet members, includixxims, they eat at different tables,"
from across the country to Thnrsay^
The Ikflti Jlninf Nrvr DcMti W o ceremony. Reginald JonesSev-t"-. e- ing Attorney General Janet Reno, flew
o
Mr. Clinton said.
to Uttle Rock for the Central High
^ As Uttle Rock remembered a palnB i w n Trickey, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence sistant deputy mayor of Las .Mkjeas. observance. Many in the crowd asked
fpl day in te history, many sainted the Members o f t h e l i t t l e Rock Nine gather o n
came to hoocr his uncle, ieS^cn Ms. Reno to pose for pictures with
Roberts, Carlotta Walls L a N k r , Gloria Ray
codrage ol the nine students and thdr die steps o f Central High School w i t h PresiThomas.
their i-hiMrpn
Karlmark, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford
porentx The nine received a standing dent O i n t o n i n the background. From l e f t
"This is his day," Mr. Jonesirver
Despite the celebratory moment
and Melba Pattillo Beab.
qration as Little Rixk Mayor Jim Doit are T h e l m a Mothershed Wair, M i n n i j e a n
said
public officials and others acknowley introdoced them one by one.
The commemoration and
nn- edged underlying concerns.
That inu^e. Mr. Clinton said, "flnrt
living 50 miles mmmf in Hot Springs at bom her fcDow Uttte Rock Nme
: piTWe cotne today to celebrate the the time of the huegratioo at Central miaabera. Sarroanded by a white seared the heart and stirred the con- up to it gave Mr. Clinton a wia- in"Today, we come back, exactly 40
~ ptneveranoe of some extraordinary High, recalled tbe image of ISyor-oU mob, die was tnrned away bom the sdewe of oar nabon" and was "so tional audience and forum br He
yean later, and we recognize that
' "Cpeopte.- said Mr. Huckabee. the Re- EUxabeth Bcktad walking "ntierty w Iwwl \>f Alkauus Nariuual Goard powerful most of as who saw it then discussion on racial harmonv ut KSSS
through the race initiative bt vsan there is still some tension, " said Mr.
! U-'Mtilcaagoweniar.
recall it stflL'
alone' and c T y ^ g only a noteboofc.
Huckabee.
J
,
Mr.CMmon.wlfcwBanUywn-old
1
"Sfce was mmed awav bv people last summer.
4 hiaf tn
�wmm.
i/9
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— • •moamomu
Tanya Corbln, 17 (left), Oyital Brook], IS, and Patience Barton, 16, war* among those present as President
CUnton helped mirk the 40th anniversary of Integration at Uttle Rock (Ark.) Central High School Thursday.
Clinton laudsrightspioneers
40 years later iii Litde Rock
Arkansas ceremony marks
Integration anniversary
Br TERENCE HUNT
AuocbtfdPrcu
Little Rock, Ark. — In a gesture meant to demonstrate racial healing, President Clinton
pulled open the front door of
Central High School on Thursday and stood back to welcome
nine blacks who 40 years ago
braved angiy crowds to become
the first African-American students at the school
"What happened here
changed the course of our country forever/_Clinton said. "Forty
^S?2^e^^32^ffi:ougI?tffi'
door and moved our nation.
And for that we must all thank
them."
Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of
CUnton, who has indicated he, 'schooUlstens to Emest Green;
wants to develop a legacy of
President Clinton and (left)
healing radal schisms, charged
that American schools were re- Mayor Jim Dalley, Clinton j^d'
segregating, opportunities for them up Central's steps 4i>d
'jobs and education remained held open the school's heavy
unequal and preferencea for mi- glass-paneled doors.
ft
norities were being rolled back,
One of the nine, Minnijean
"slamming shut the doors of
higher education on a new Brown Trickey, a sodal worker
In Ontario, became overwhelmgeneration."
"Segregation ia no longer the e d &
law," CUnton said, "but top of"It was pretty strong symbolten separation is still the rule.
And we cannot forget one stub- ism," she said of Clinton's gesY>
bom fact that has not yet been ture.
Of the nine, only Ernest
said aa dtarly aa it should:
T
ia still discrimination in Green,, an investment banker
and dose Clinton friend, sppke
America.".
"We have to keep working on at the gathering. "If one young
it — not just with our voices but person out there has seen the
with our laws," the president story of the Uttle Rock Nine and
(aid. "And we have to engage can Uke from It a belief that lie
or she can open a door, succeed
each other in IL*
againat the odda... then the
Clinton, who waa 11 yean old little Rock Nine become the
during the Uttle Rock crisla, attending, segregated achbpU.SO'. ^ « „ ^ . > ' ^ / f , f « *
miles away in Hot Springs, said,'' \ f « W W t
*e 10 milliort''
0
h u
r
dal eouality a driving obseaaipn-^SiV• jortjr Veari "go. President ;
in my life."
•,- vVW Dwight D. Eisenhower had$r- '
After a morning drizzle, sides '' dered troops from the 101st Ajrturned blue and a warm'sun ; borne Division into the strejsja
beat down. Now middle-aged,, of the Arkansas capital to jinthe Uttle Rock Nine — six worn- force a federal cqurt desegregaen and three men — basked In tion order that was being defied
cheers.
by then-Gov. Orval E. Fau1?u« ,
Assisted by Arkansas Gov. and the Arkansas Natioiial
Mike Huckabee and Uttle Rock Guard.
, ,
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beveral oj mhad tears in our eyes
'
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AP-esident Bill Clinton greets Thelma Mothershed Wair of Belleville Thursday and other members of the "Little Rock
ine," who integrated Central High School in Little Rock under armed escort in 1957.
;
40 Years, 9 Return To Little Rock
' Terence Samuel
rt-Otspatch Washington Bureau
• All But one of Little Rock Nine left the city they were spit on and persistently harassed.
—one coming to St. Louis.
. 14A Those Little Rock confrontations and the im-
LTTTLE ROCK, Ark. — In a dramatic piece
national symbolism, President'Bill Clinton armed federal troops to get them past an angry ages they produced became embedded in the
American memory and evolved into part of the
xxi beneath the towers of Little Rock Cenmob and into the halls of the all-white high lore of the civil rights movement.
J High School on Thursday and held open
Thursday was different Clinton called thepi
e glass-paneled doors for nine black school.
In September 1957, when they integrated heroes and inspirations, and he used the 40th
nericans..
.
Forty years ago, the same nine needed the school, the nine were kicked and shoved;
See RETURN, Page 14
. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER.28,:1897
SlldUIS P S- S AC
OT IPT H
D
�THE UTTLE ROCK NINE: 40 YEARS LATER
President BU CSnton'on
iy stands with four members of the Uttle Rack Nine. From left are Elizabeth EcKlord, Ernest
. • ^ i-n
Green, Gtoria Ray Karimarfc and Cariotta Walls LaNier.
happily strolling through the doors of had tbe courafe to hope, to ste^
Arkansas Gov: Mike' HuckaSee
the high school with more than 1,000 outside the bo. to dare not knew preceded Clinton to the podiilm and
people cheering them on stood in their phes."
urged a close and honest look at this
sharp contrast to the famous pictures
Janice Swir vas vice president d episo^^tf history.
.
'* .
Frafflpagaona
of them being taunted and jeered. As the Central odent body in 1957.
"We in Arkansas have^nnddied
teens, they walked into Central High She said that nny white studexa aramd in ambiguity, withaO kinfof
ynmvyrit^ry erf the dffs^^^^^^tfcfm or*
Eke herself did xx always
opianations and
teid
deal to urge Americans toward great, three weeks after it opened in 1957, what was hamsnng backunderstzni Huckabee. "Andjusdficatidna,'*'oix
the protection cf
th^i ^ *
I think f i
er racial harmony and equal under Airborne Division. the Army's said: This w» a sleepyfittleSoui101st
here today to say, once andfarHH.
opportttDity.
Clinton recalled a photograph of ern town, anc oust of us bad nx that what happened here 40'years
"KeconcBiation is important not
came in rrtmv with many blacks. I ago was simply
only far those who practice bigotry EUiabeth Eckford, one'of the nine, don't think vt even knew what tie and we renouncewrong. It was ^ /
it,"
taken when she tried to go to'school
but for those'vhose resentment of it
word integnoon meant. I do na
The renundatkn from the gdverEngers, for both are prisons from on thefirstday of classes.
"She was turned away by people think the ^rp*"!* reaDy understood oor seeaned intended as a negative
wfaidi our spirits must escape." Qinwho were afraid of change, instruct- Hat qflmfirat..- of the event."
echo cf four decades ago, when then*
tonsaid.
It waa an ^v**™*! mm*** izr GOT. Orval Faubus iood igainstfthe
CEnton, who has made improved ed by ignorance, hating what they
simply could not understand," he die nine to be walking through lie huegradon of Central Hkh. and^erace relations one of his priorities,
said the trials of the nine students said. With Eckford seated behmd dooia of the ^ In"J Thursday wiji pfand tbe Arkansas Natuml GtUrd
had made dvil rights an important him, he said the photograph "seared the presidems thtir side, the BUBS to keep the nine ^^Witf out^of
our hearts" and stirred the nation's their hacks md hjstory all aiumil sdnoL Faubiis' stance forced Tresiissue for turn.
them.
dent Dwight D. Eisenhower to tend
Cfinton, who was an ll.year-otd
"America saw heiV haunted and
.- "Several n us had tears in enr in uoops to enforce a'Supreme Cbiirt
fiving just 50 miles away in Hot
Springs at the time, said the oppres- Uunted for the simple coldir of her .eyes," said ]64ba Patillo Beals. me n£ng ordering desegregation «* SK
Ugh schooL
sion of Hack people in the Jim Crow skin, and in the image we caught a of tbe nine, vnn was 15 in 19S7.
Terrence Alberts, now a psyebaZoshua Sheiton, 15, a Cedtral
S^ith was 'Inckground music" to very disturbing glimpse of
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cial equality a driving obsession m my
said Ernest Green, a senior in 1957 bob of 195" were still there, md
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and the first African-American j
today we w=e making a totally lew nx and act like that, when, you're
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�Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AMI) TYPE
001. memo
DATE
SUBJECT/TITLE
Michael Waldman and June Shih to the President; RE: Revised Draft
for Central High School Speech (1 page)
n.d.
RESTRICTION
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COLLECTION:
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RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
�PAGE
1ST STORY o f Level 1 p r i n t e d i n FULL format.
Copyright 19 97 The Economist Newspaper L t d .
A l l r i g h t s reserved
The Economist
September 27, 1997, U.S. EditionUSA
LENGTH: 796 words
HEADLINE: Desegregation
4 0 years on: s o r r y
H)
A
BODY:
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
AMERICANS are b i g on p u b l i c a n n i v e r s a r i e s , e s p e c i a l l y those they judge t o
c a r r y weighty moral lessons. As they looked back t h i s week on the 40th
anniversary of the desegregation c r i s i s i n L i t t l e Rock on September 25th 1957,
they saw a lesson so c l e a r t h a t good and e v i l were almost colour-coded: blacks
good, racism and rednecks bad. I t i s not s u r p r i s i n g t h a t the week l e a d i n g up t o
the a n n i v e r s a r y was an orgy o f panel discussions, h e a r t - r e n d i n g t e s t i m o n i a l s ,
p u b l i c apologies and g l i t z y pep r a l l i e s p o i n t i n g t o a b r i g h t f u t u r e of r a c i a l
harmony. I t was atonement, American s t y l e , and t h e r e seemed few l i m i t s t o how
personalor commercialit could a l l be.
The " C r i s i s o f 1957" began when s i x g i r l s and three boys t r i e d t o become the
f i r s t black students t o e n r o l a t C e n t r a l High School, L i t t l e Rock's most p r i z e d
a l l - w h i t e school. I t was the dawn o f the c i v i l - r i g h t s movement, and the L i t t l e
Rock Nine had the weight o f the Supreme Court behind them. ( I n 1954, i t decided
t h a t "separate but equal" treatment denied black Americans a basic r i g h t . ) But
southern s e g r e g a t i o n i s t s saw red at the thought o f t h e i r k i d s sharing classrooms
w i t h blacks.
The n i g h t before school s t a r t e d , the governor o f Arkansas, Orval Faubus,
c a l l e d out the N a t i o n a l Guard t o p r o t e c t the school and the community from the
carloads o f o u t s i d e r s and troublemakers he s a i d were heading f o r L i t t l e Rock,
armed t o the t e e t h . I n f a c t the s o l d i e r s were there t o keep the black students
from c r o s s i n g the t h r e s h o l d . President Dwight Eisenhower ordered 1,100 f e d e r a l
troops i n t o L i t t l e Rock t o e s c o r t the nine past the j e e r i n g crowds i n t o the
school. By then, L i t t l e Rock had become synonymous the w o r l d over w i t h southern
racism.
The formal process o f l o o k i n g back over those 4 0 years began on September
19th w i t h a media symposium on the events o f 1957. The a l l - w h i t e panel o f
j o u r n a l i s t s ruminated on t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o h i s t o r y (not c a r i n g t o l i n g e r
over the f a c t t h a t the two main newspapers o f the day i n Arkansas were both a t
f i r s t against i n t e g r a t i o n ) , and r a i l e d against the " n o r t h e r n " press t h a t invaded
" t h e i r " s t o r y . Next came the opening o f a museum and a v i s i t o r s ' centre. The
museum, across the s t r e e t from the school, i s the f i r s t permanent monument t o
the events o f 1957. A t the opening ceremony, the Nine were h a i l e d as American
heroes o n l y a few yards from where they had been threatened w i t h l y n c h i n g 4 0
years before. The present governor o f Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, the mayor o f
L i t t l e Rock, Jim D a i l e y , and o t h e r l o c a l p o l i t i c i a n s a l l declared t h a t the
people o f Arkansas had learned from t h e i r mistakes.
�Page 20
LEVEL 1 - 23 OF 75 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 19 97 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
September 26, 1997, F r i d a y , C i t y E d i t i o n
SECTION: NATIONAL/FOREIGN;
Pg. A l
LENGTH: 1118 words
HEADLINE: 40 years l a t e r , 9 who braved h a t r e d a r e h a i l e d
BYLINE: By Ann Scales, Globe s t a f f
DATELINE: LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
BODY:
This t i m e , no angry w h i t e mob h u r l e d r a c i a l e p i t h e t s , and no b a y o n e t - t o t i n g
N a t i o n a l Guardsmen b l o c k e d t h e i r p a t h as they approached t h e school b u i l d i n g .
This t i m e , t h e governor, accompanied by an Arkansas-born p r e s i d e n t o f t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s , h e l d open t h e door.
A moment l a t e r , n i n e people, f r o z e n i n t h e mind's eye as s c h o o l c h i l d r e n ,
ascended t h e steps o f C e n t r a l High School, c l o s e d t o them f o u r decades ago as
the n a t i o n began a wrenching b a t t l e over i n t e g r a t i n g p u b l i c schools.
The event y e s t e r d a y j o i n e d America's legacy o f r a c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n w i t h a
promise o f improved race r e l a t i o n s i n t h e same p l a c e a major c i v i l r i g h t s
s t r u g g l e began - a t t h i s schoolhouse door.
" F o r t y years ago today, they climbed these steps, passed t h r o u g h t h i s door,
and moved our n a t i o n , " P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n s a i d . "What happened here changed t h e
course o f our c o u n t r y f o r e v e r . "
As he spoke, t h e L i t t l e Rocle Nine, as t h e y a r e known, a l l i n t h e i r mid-50s,
sat on t h e stage s c a r r e d e m o t i o n a l l y i n some r e s p e c t s by t h e experience, b u t
leading successful l i v e s .
They a r e w r i t e r s , c o u n s e l o r s , p s y c h o l o g i s t s , s o c i a l workers and r e a l e s t a t e
b r o k e r s . One o f them, Ernest Green, a managing d i r e c t o r o f Lehman B r o t h e r s
investment bank i n Washington, i s a c l o s e f r i e n d o f C l i n t o n ' s who has become
e n t a n g l e d i n t h e Democratic f u n d - r a i s i n g i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
Another, E l i z a b e t h E c k f o r d , a former Army p u b l i c i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t , i s
unemployed and s t i l l l i v e s i n L i t t l e Rock. She was t h e o n l y one o f t h e nine who
came alone t o school on Sept. 24, 1957. Her p a r e n t s d i d n ' t have a phone, so she
d i d n ' t know a l l t h e s t u d e n t s were supposed t o meet and go t o g e t h e r .
"She was t u r n e d away by people who were a f r a i d o f change, i n s t r u c t e d by
ignorance, h a t i n g what they s i m p l y c o u l d n o t understand," C l i n t o n s a i d . "And
America saw her, haunted and t a u n t e d f o r t h e simple c o l o r o f her s k i n , and i n
the image we caught a v e r y d i s t u r b i n g glimpse o f o u r s e l v e s . "
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The Boston Globe, September 26, 1997
Many i n t h i s c i t y , e s p e c i a l l y w h i t e s , some o f 'whose angry faces a r e shown i n
f i l m footage from t h e episode, d i d n o t want t h e commemoration t o take p l a c e .
Addressing t h a t f a c t d i r e c t l y , t h e s t a t e ' s Republican governor, Mike Huckabee,
s a i d , "There a r e those who perhaps hoped t h a t t h i s event wouldn't take p l a c e
because i t o n l y might open up o l d wounds.
"But we come today because i t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o have t e n s i o n every now and t h e n .
A f t e r a l l , i t i s t e n s i o n t h a t b u i l d s our muscles and g i v e s us s t r e n g t h , And i f
i t i s necessary f o r us t o have some t e n s i o n i n o r d e r t h a t we can change t h i n g s ,
then t e n s i o n can be a . . . p o s i t i v e t h i n g f o r us," he s a i d .
As t h e ceremony began, t h e names o f t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine were read as t h e y
stepped o u t , one by one, from a s i d e door and s t o o d t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e i r backs
a g a i n s t t h e w a l l i n f r o n t o f t h e s c h o o l , some o f them h o l d i n g hands, b e f o r e
t a k i n g t h e i r seats.
Back i n t h e summer o f 1957, they were among 18 s t u d e n t s chosen from a f i e l d
of 80 t o i n t e g r a t e L i t t l e Rock's best h i g h school t o comply w i t h t h e 1954 US
Supreme Court d e c i s i o n o u t l a w i n g school d e s e g r g a t i o n . By September, t h e o t h e r s
had withdrawn t h e i r names, l e a v i n g o n l y t h e n i n e .
But Governor O r v a l Faubus c a l l e d o u t t h e N a t i o n a l Guard t o p r e v e n t them from
e n t e r i n g C e n t r a l High. The next day, P r e s i d e n t Dwight D. Eisenhower f e d e r a l i z e d
t h e Arkansas N a t i o n a l Guard and sent i n t h e 101st A i r b o r n e D i v i s i o n t o e n f o r c e
the f e d e r a l d e s e g r e g a t i o n o r d e r .
Green, who spoke f o r t h e group a t t h e ceremony, s a i d , "Even though we had
been warned what we would f a c e , w i t h t h e n a i v e t e o f y o u t h we s t i l l hoped t h a t
maybe, j u s t maybe, when we g o t t o t h e f r o n t door we would be met w i t h openness
instead of opposition."
The o t h e r s were Melba P a t t i l l o Beals, G l o r i a Ray Karlmark, C a r l o t t a Walls
L a n i e r , Terrence Roberts, M i n n i j e a n Brown T r i c k e y , Thelma Jean Mothershed Wair
and J e f f e r s o n Thomas.
His v o i c e c r a c k i n g , he s a i d , "Nothing t h a t I can say today can t r u l y convey
the magnitude o f t h a t moment. There a r e no words t o express f u l l y t h e sense o f
r e s p e c t and reverence I f e e l then o r now f o r my p a r e n t s . . . and t h e o t h e r
parents, t o o . "
He s a i d t h e s t u d e n t s ' p a r e n t s "may n o t have been s c h o l a r s , b u t t h e y
demonstrated s t a r t l i n g i n t e l l e c t . They were able t o see t h e paths, t h e moment.
They were a b l e t o see t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e American dream and t h e American
reality."
C l i n t o n , who was 11 years o l d a t t h e time and l i v i n g 50 m i l e s away i n Hot
Springs, t o l d t h e crowd: "Imagine, a l l o f you, what i t would be l i k e t o come t o
school one day and be shoved a g a i n s t l o c k e r s , t r i p p e d down s t a i r w a y s , t a u n t e d
day a f t e r day by your classmates, t o go a l l t h r o u g h school w i t h no hope o f going
t o a school p l a y o r b e i n g on a b a s k e t b a l l team o r l e a r n i n g i n simple peace."
As a group o f d i s a b l e d people p r o t e s t i n g t h e l a c k o f access ramps a t
C e n t r a l High School began t o shout f o r equal r i g h t s , C l i n t o n s a i d , "Speaking o f
simple peace, I ' d l i k e a l i t t l e o f i t today."
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�Page 22
The Boston Globe, September 26, 1997
A person who c o u l d have been another d i s t r a c t i o n f o r C l i n t o n was i n t h e
audience: A t t o r n e y General Janet Reno. She i s c o n d u c t i n g a 30-day r e v i e w o f
C l i n t o n ' s r o l e i n r a i s i n g funds f o r h i s r e e l e c t i o n t o determine i f he
i m p r o p e r l y made c a l l s from the White House t o s o l i c i t d o n a t i o n s .
Reno was among s e v e r a l Cabinet members, i n c l u d i n g the s e c r e t a r i e s o f
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , l a b o r and e d u c a t i o n and members o f t h e p r e s i d e n t ' s a d v i s o r y
panel on race t o a t t e n d t h e commemoration. Reno s a i d she had been i n v i t e d by the
White House and d i d not f e e l awkward b e i n g t h e r e .
I n h i s speech, C l i n t o n s a i d , " S e p a r a t i o n i s no l o n g e r t h e law, b u t t o o o f t e n ,
s e p a r a t i o n s t i l l i s t h e r u l e . And we cannot f o r g e t one s t u b b o r n f a c t t h a t has
not y e t been s a i d as c l e a r l y as i t s h o u l d : There i s s t i l l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n
America," he s a i d as t h e crowd applauded.
A f t e r he spoke, C l i n t o n , Huckabee and L i t t l e Rock Mayor Jim Daley walked
h a l f w a y up t h e school s t e p s . They were f o l l o w e d by t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine, and
they a l l posed f o r p i c t u r e s .
Then C l i n t o n and Huckabee walked up t h e r e m a i n i n g s t e p s and opened t h e brown
wood doors w i t h square g l a s s panes, doors t h a t many o t h e r b l a c k s have walked
t h r o u g h i n t h e l a s t 40 y e a r s .
"Imagine what would have been d i f f e r e n t about our h i s t o r y i f t h e p r e s i d e n t ,
the governor and t h e mayor had g r e e t e d t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine a t t h e f r o n t door
r a t h e r t h a n t h i s r a g i n g , r a c i s t mob," s a i d Leonard Zakim o f t h e New England
Region o f t h e A n t i - D e f a m a t i o n League and an i n v i t e d guest.
As t h e p r e s i d e n t and governor h e l d opened the door, t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine
began w a l k i n g i n , some s t r u t t i n g w i t h t h e i r heads h e l d h i g h . T r i c k e y , a
c o u n s e l i n g c o o r d i n a t o r a t a community c e n t e r i n Ottawa, was so overwhelmed w i t h
emotion t h a t she s i m p l y h e l d out her arms and l e t C l i n t o n and Huckabee usher her
in.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, 1 . P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n ( r i g h t ) , Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
( f a r l e f t ) , and L i t t l e Rock Mayor Jim Daley (second from l e f t ) welcome Thelma
Mothershed Wair ( c e n t e r ) and M i i j j i i j e a n Brown T r i c k e y , members o f t h e L i t t l e Rock
Nine, a t t h e doors o f L i t t l e Rock C e n t r a l High School. / AP PHOTO 2. Imogene
Brown ( l e f t p h o t o ) , mother o f L i t t l e Rock Nine member M i n n i j e a n Brown T r i c k e y ,
l i s t e n e d t o speakers y e s t e r d a y a t C e n t r a l High School. A t r i g h t , P r e s i d e n t
C l i n t o n helped M i n n i j e a n Brown T r i c k e y i n t o C e n t r a l High School y e s t e r d a y a f t e r
the 4 0 t h - a n n i v e r s a r y ceremony. / REUTERS PHOTO 3. The L i t t l e Rock Nine g a t h e r a t
C e n t r a l High School w i t h , from l e f t (back r o w ) , L i t t l e Rock Mayor Jim Daley,
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n . / AP PHOTO
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: S e p t e m b e r 26, 1997
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�Page 33
LEVEL 1 - 3 0 OF 7 5 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 1997 Guardian Newspapers L i m i t e d
The Guardian (London)
September 26, 1997
SECTION: THE GUARDIAN FOREIGN PAGE; Pg. 15
LENGTH: 558 words
HEADLINE: CLINTON WARNS OF RETURN TO RACE DIVIDE IN THE US;
The p r e s i d e n t made an e m o t i o n a l appeal f o r i n t e g r a t i o n a t t h e 4 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y
of a key moment i n t h e c i v i l r i g h t s s t r u g g l e , M a r t i n K e t t l e r e p o r t s from L i t t l e
Rock, Arkansas
BYLINE: M a r t i n K e t t l e
BODY:
PRESIDENT B i l l C l i n t o n warned y e s t e r d a y t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c o u l d become
a segregated s o c i e t y a g a i n , on an a n n i v e r s a r y charged w i t h emotion r e c a l l i n g one
of t h e seminal moments o f t h e American c i v i l r i g h t s s t r u g g l e .
I n a speech i n L i t t l e Rock, Arkansas, t o mark t h e 4 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e
e n f o r c e d desegregat i o n o f t h e s t a t e ' s w h i t e - o n l y h i g h schools, Mr C l i n t o n s a i d
t h a t t o o many Americans were g i v i n g up on i n t e g r a t i o n and r e t r e a t i n g i n t o e t h n i c
isolation.
He s a i d r a c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n s t i l l e x i s t e d i n t h e US" and warned h i s l a r g e l y
b l a c k audience: "We a r e n o t t h e r e y e t . "
F o r t y years a f t e r n i n e b l a c k teenagers were e s c o r t e d i n t o L i t t l e Rock's
C e n t r a l High School by armed t r o o p s , past a j e e r i n g crowd o f w h i t e o n l o o k e r s ,
the Arkansas-born p r e s i d e n t s y m H o l i c a l l y h e l d open t h e door t o t h e school f o r
the same " L i t t l e Rock Nine" t o e n t e r once a g a i n .
The n i n e , g r e y i n g and s t o u t e r now than when t h e y l a s t had t h e world's
a t t e n t i o n , waved and s m i l e d as t h e y climbed t h e school steps w i t h t h e d i g n i t y
t h a t , f o r a g e n e r a t i o n , summed up t h e j u s t i c e o f t h e i r cause.
Mr C l i n t o n , who reminded h i s audience t h a t he was an l l - y e a r - o l d p u p i l a t an
a l l - w h i t e Arkansas schoolnear L i t t l e Rock when t h e n i n e r a n t h e s e g r e g a t i o n i s t
g a u n t l e t , s a i d i n a p o w e r f u l speech t h a t t h e i r b r a v e r y had "changed t h e course
of o u r c o u n t r y ' s h i s t o r y f o r e v e r " .
But Mr C l i n t o n s a i d t h a t t h e r e were " s t i l l more doors t o be opened" and
t h a t , a l t h o u g h c h i l d r e n o f a l l races now e n t e r e d schools t o g e t h e r , t h e y t o o
o f t e n "pass down separate c o r r i d o r s " and " s i t a t separate t a b l e s " .
His remarks come as evidence mounts o f t h e f a i l u r e o f r a c i a l i n t e g r a t i o n
p o l i c i e s i n t h e US, and amid renewed concern t h a t separatjion i s becoming
i n c r e a s i n g l y entrenched i n c i t i e s .
Decades o f "white f l i g h t "
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�Page 34
The Guardian (London), September 26, 1997
of b l a c k and H i s p a n i c c h i l d r e n now a t t e n d m a i n l y non-white schools than 25 years
ago.
A number o f u n i v e r s i t i e s have a l s o begun t o undo a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n
programmes, w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t t h e p r o p o r t i o n s o f w h i t e s t u d e n t s a t p r e v i o u s l y
mixed-race campuses have r i s e n s h a r p l y .
Mr C l i n t o n was h e c k l e d by some i n t h e crowd i n L i t t l e Rock who a l l e g e d he
was n o t t a c k l i n g d i s c r i m i n a t i o n and disadvantage s t r o n g l y enough. Yesterday's
ceremony was a l s o b o y c o t t e d by some branches o f t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n f o r t h e
Advancement o f Coloured People, which p l a y e d a c e n t r a l r o l e i n t h e 1957
d e s e g r e g a t i o n campaign.
The p r e s i d e n t s a i d t h a t , i n t h e events a t L i t t l e Rock 40 years ago,
Americans caught a v e r y d i s t u r b i n g glimpse o f "two Americas, d i v i d e d and
unequal".
yet
He s a i d much had changed s i n c e then, b u t t h e g o a l o f "one America" had n o t
been reached.
"Any n a t i o n which i n d u l g e s i t s e l f i n e t h n i c separatism w i l l n o t be able t o
master t h e c h a l l e n g e s o f t h e 21st c e n t u r y , " Mr C l i n t o n warned.
The o r i g i n a l L i t t l e Rock c o n f r o n t a t i o n came a f t e r s e v e r a l Arkansas
s c h o o l s f a i l e d t o i n t e g r a t e a f t e r t h e US Supreme Court's landmark d e c i s i o n i n
1954 t o end s e g r e g a t i o n .
On September 4, 1957, nine b l a c k teenage s t u d e n t s a s s e r t e d t h e i r r i g h t s i n
the face o f w h i t e mobs and t h e o p p o s i t i o n o f t h e s t a t e governor.
P r e s i d e n t Dwight Eisenhower sent t r o o p s t o L i t t l e Rock t o e n f o r c e t h e
d e s e g r e g a t i o n campaign, and photographs and t e l e v i s i o n footage o f t h e events was
broadcast across t h e w o r l d .
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: September 27, 1997
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LEVEL 1 - 2 9 OF 7 5 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 1997 McClatchy Newspapers, I n c .
The Fresno Bee
September 26, 1997 F r i d a y ,
SECTION: TELEGRAPH,
HOME EDITION
Pg. A10
LENGTH: 73 7 words
HEADLINE: C l i n t o n reviews 4 0 - y e a r - o l d lessons o f L i t t l e Rock Nine;
P r e s i d e n t c a u t i o n s a g a i n s t a growing new s e g r e g a t i o n .
BYLINE: M u r i e l Dobbin, Bee Washington Bureau
DATELINE: LITTLE ROCK, A r k .
BODY:
I n a p o i g n a n t g e s t u r e o f r a c i a l h e a l i n g , P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n Thursday h e l d open
the door o f C e n t r a l High f o r t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine who 40 years ago needed an
escort o f f e d e r a l paratroopers t o a t t e n d school.
R e c a l l i n g how the n i n e A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n teen-agers walked " u t t e r l y alone"
through a screaming mob, C l i n t o n s a i d , " e saw then two Americas, d i v i d e d and
W
unequal. What happened here changed the course o f o u r c o u n t r y f o r e v e r . "
And he c a u t i o n e d a g a i n s t a growing new s e g r e g a t i o n , c i t i n g the r o l l b a c k o f
a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n as "slamming shut t h e doors o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n on a new
g e n e r a t i o n , w h i l e those who oppose i t have not y e t put f o r w a r d any a l t e r n a t i v e . "
"There i s s t i l l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n America," d e c l a r e d C l i n t o n , who wants t o
f o s t e r a n a t i o n a l d i a l o g u e on race throughout h i s second term.
The p r e s i d e n t , who a t t e n d e d segregated p u b l i c schools i n nearby Hot Springs
and was 11 years o l d a t the time o f the L i t t l e Rock c r i s i s , addressed a crowd o f
more than 1,000 g a t h e r e d on the lawn i n f r o n t o f the huge b r i c k s c h o o l , which
became a symbol o f t h e s t r u g g l e s o f the e a r l y c i v i l r i g h t s movement.
As C l i n t o n stood before the massive cherrywood doors, the L i t t l e Rock Nine
slowly mounted the steps and f i l e d past him into the school i n which they made
p a i n f u l h i s t o r y . One of nine, Minnijean Trickey of Ontario, Canada, f a l t e r e d as
she reached the door and was comforted by C l i n t o n .
I n a b r i e f speech, Ernest Green, r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e n i n e , r e c a l l e d t h e
t e r r i f y i n g days when 1,000 members o f t h e 101st A i r b o r n e D i v i s i o n were sent i n
by P r e s i d e n t Eisenhower t o p r o t e c t the s t u d e n t s from mob v i o l e n c e i n f l a m e d by
Arkansas Gov. O r v a l Faubus' d e f i a n c e o f school i n t e g r a t i o n o r d e r s .
"An armed e s c o r t was as much an entrance requirement as books and paper,"
observed Green.
C l i n t o n contended t h a t i n the h a u n t i n g image o f the L i t t l e Rock Nine, "we
caught a v e r y d i s t u r b i n g glimpse o f o u r s e l v e s . "
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L i t t l e Rock, s a i d the p r e s i d e n t , was what made people r e a l i z e what
happening i n America's own back y a r d .
" I t was L i t t l e Rock that made r a c i a l e q u a l i t y a d r i v i n g obsession
l i f e , " said Clinton.
was
i n my
He h a i l e d t h e achievements of t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine, y e t s t r e s s e d how f a r
America has t o go on the road t o r a c i a l e q u a l i t y .
"For t h e f i r s t t i m e s i n c e t h e '50s, American schools are r e s e g r e g a t i n g , " he
warned. "Segregation i s no l o n g e r the law, but t o o o f t e n , s e p a r a t i o n i s s t i l l
the r u l e . "
I n a r e v e r s a l o f the " s e g r e g a t i o n f o r e v e r " pledge made by Alabama Gov. George
Wallace d u r i n g an i n t e g r a t i o n c r i s i s i n the 1960s, C l i n t o n p r o c l a i m e d "One
America today, one America tomorrow, one America f o r e v e r . "
Appealing f o r deeper u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the i n c r e a s i n g l y complex problems of
race, C l i n t o n a s s e r t e d , "The t r u e b a t t l e g r o u n d i n e d u c a t i o n today i s whether we
h o n e s t l y b e l i e v e t h a t every c h i l d can l e a r n and s e t standards we expect a l l
c h i l d r e n t o meet. We must not r e p l a c e the t y r a n n y of s e g r e g a t i o n w i t h t h e
t r a g e d y of low e x p e c t a t i o n s . "
The commemoration o f t h e 40th a n n i v e r s a r y o f the i n t e g r a t i o n of C e n t r a l High
capped a week i n which L i t t l e Rock sought t o make amends f o r the b r u t a l i t y of
the p a s t .
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee acknowledged, "What happened here 4 0 years ago
was wrong. I c a l l on every Arkansan t o say t h a t never, never, never again w i l l
we be s i l e n t when l i v e s are a t s t a k e . "
I n h i s speech, C l i n t o n d e c l a r e d t h a t a f t e r 40 years, C e n t r a l High was p r o o f
t h a t a l l c h i l d r e n can l e a r n . Yet he noted t h a t a l t h o u g h c h i l d r e n of every race
now walk t h r o u g h t h e same door, t h e y o f t e n walk down d i f f e r e n t h a l l s , eat a t
d i f f e r e n t t a b l e s and s i t i n d i f f e r e n t classrooms.
The p r e s i d e n t complained t h a t t o o many Americans "have a c t u a l l y begun t o g i v e
up on the idea o f i n t e g r a t i o n . . . and are r e t r e a t i n g i n t o the c o m f o r t a b l e
enclaves of e t h n i c i s o l a t i o n . "
There are s t i l l Americans, s a i d C l i n t o n , "who
t h e y have somebody e l s e t o l o o k down on."
can't go t h r o u g h t h e day
unless
Underscoring the importance of r e c o n c i l i a t i o n , C l i n t o n urged, "We must face
the f a c t s o f today and f i n a l l y we must a c t . R e c o n c i l i a t i o n i s i m p o r t a n t , not
o n l y f o r those who p r a c t i c e b i g o t r y , b u t f o r those whose resentment o f i t
lingers."
The d e c i s i o n f a c i n g Americans, C l i n t o n s a i d , i s whether t h e y w i l l choose t o
s t a n d as "a s h i n i n g example, o r a s t u n n i n g rebuke t o the w o r l d of tomorrow. For
the a l t e r n a t i v e t o i n t e g r a t i o n i s n o t i s o l a t i o n o r a new separate but e q u a l . I t
is disintegration."
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The Fresno Bee, September 26, 1997
GRAPHIC: A s s o c i a t e d Press
L i t t l e Rock Nine. From l e f t , Thelma Mothershed Wair, M i n n i j e a n Brown T r i c k e y ,
J e f f e r s o n Thomas, Terrence Thomas, C a r l o t t a Walls LaNeir, G l o r i a Ray Karlmark,
Ernest Green, E l i z a b e t h E c k f o r d , Melba P a t i l l o Beals. A s s o c i a t e d Press
G r e e t i n g s . P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n and L i t t l e Rock Mayor Jim Daley welcome Thelma
Mothershed Wair, l e f t , and M i n n i j e a n Brown T r i c k e y .
LOAD-DATE: September 27, 1997
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LEVEL 1 - 2 7 OF 31 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 1997 N a t i o n a l B r o a d c a s t i n g Co. I n c .
NBC News T r a n s c r i p t s
SHOW: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS (6:30 PM ET)
September 25, 1997, Thursday 10:41
AM
LENGTH: 3 85 words
HEADLINE: PRESIDENT CLINTON ATTEMPTS TO REFOCUS ON RACIAL INTEGRATION RATHER
THAN SEPARATION AT COMMEMORATION OF INTEGRATION OF LITTLE ROCK NINE
ANCHORS: TOM BROKAW
REPORTERS: DAVID BLOOM
BODY:
TOM BROKAW, anchor:
P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n today made a p a s s i o n a t e r e t u r n t o an i s s u e he hopes w i l l be
one o f t h e d e f i n i n g themes o f h i s p r e s i d e n c y , race i n America, a n a t i o n a l
d i a l o g u e on moving f o r w a r d on r a c i a l i n t e g r a t i o n . And he made h i s case i n a
s e t t i n g t h a t g a l v a n i z e d America's d i a l o g u e on race 40 years ago. L i t t l e Rock's
C e n t r a l High School, where t h e might o f the US Army and another p r e s i d e n t was
necessary t o g e t n i n e b l a c k k i d s i n t o c l a s s . NBC's David Bloom i n L i t t l e Rock
tonight.
DAVID BLOOM r e p o r t i n g :
I n a f i e r y speech meant t o r e i g n i t e h i s s t a l l e d e f f o r t t o promote a n a t i o n a l
d i a l o g u e on race r e l a t i o n s , P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n today urged Americans n o t t o
r e t r e a t i n t o what he c a l l e d " c o m f o r t a b l e enclaves o f e t h n i c i s o l a t i o n . "
P r e s i d e n t BILL CLINTON: Segregation
separation i s s t i l l the rule.
i s no l o n g e r t h e law, b u t too o f t e n
U n i d e n t i f i e d Man: Ladies and gentlemen, t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine!
BLOOM: But t h i s was f i r s t and foremost a c e l e b r a t i o n o f n i n e c i v i l r i g h t s
p i o n e e r s . Today, t h e crowd was c h e e r i n g . F o r t y years ago, an angry mob was
j e e r i n g as America's f i r s t t e l e v i s e d c i v i l r i g h t s c r i s i s ended w i t h 1,000 Army
p a r a t r o o p e r s e s c o r t i n g n i n e b l a c k s t u d e n t s i n t o L i t t l e Rock's p r e v i o u s l y a l l
w h i t e C e n t r a l High School.
U n i d e n t i f i e d Man: (From f i l m footage) I'm not sure most o f us have y e t
absorbed t h e h i s t o r i c scope o f t h i s moment.
BLOOM: Today, a p r e s i d e n t , Arkansas' n a t i v e son, l e d t h e now middle-aged
L i t t l e Rock Nine back t h r o u g h those same doors again, a l l t h e w h i l e wondering
how much America's changed.
P r e s i d e n t CLINTON: For t h e f i r s t time s i n c e t h e 1950s, o u r schools i n America
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NBC News Transcripts, September 25, 1997
are r e s e g r e g a t i n g . The r o l l b a c k o f a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n i s slamming shut t h e
doors o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n on a new g e n e r a t i o n , w h i l e those who oppose i t have
not y e t p u t f o r w a r d any o t h e r a l t e r n a t i v e .
BLOOM: But t h e p r e s i d e n t s a i d t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine, "moved our n a t i o n " and
p a i d t h e p r i c e , v e r b a l l y and p h y s i c a l l y a s s a u l t e d day a f t e r day.
Mr. ERNIE GREEN ( " L i t t l e Rock Nine" Member): These were dangerous times f o r
b l a c k f o l k s who had t h e courage t o hope, t o step o u t s i d e -the box, t o dare n o t
know t h e i r p l a c e .
BLOOM: A l o o k a t t h e faces i n t h e crowd might t e l l you times have changed,
e s p e c i a l l y t h i s f a c e . F o r t y years ago, so f i l l e d w i t h h a t r e d . Today, Hazel
Massery t o l d b l a c k s t u d e n t s h e r s she owes t h e L i t t l e Rock Nine a p u b l i c apology.
Ms. HAZEL MASSERY (Former C e n t r a l High School S t u d e n t ) : I guess I'm g o i n g t o
have t o be t h e v o i c e f o r those t h a t can't t a l k and say I'm ashamed o f what I
d i d , because t h e r e ' s , I t h i n k , a l o t o f them o u t t h e r e who a r e ashamed.
BLOOM: And t h a t i s what t h e p r e s i d e n t says h i s race i n i t i a t i v e
changing people's h e a r t s and minds one a t a t i m e . Tom:
i s a l l about,
BROKAW: David Bloom i n L i t t l e Rock t o n i g h t , thanks v e r y much.
LANGUAGE: E n g l i s h
LOAD-DATE: September 26, 1997
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Yahoo! • Clinton Remembers 1957 Desegregaiion
,
http//www.yahoo.copv'heac lincs/97n925'pol:tic i'storics.'clinion 7 html
—REUTERS
NEWS
I Yahoo I Write Us I Search I Info 1
[ Index I News I World I Biz I Tech I Politic I Sport I Scoreboard I Entertain I Health 1
Thursday September 25 2:54 PM EDT
Clinton Remembers 1957 Desegregation
By Randall Mikkelsen
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuter) - President Clinton made a passionate plea to Aniericans to reverse a
trend toward resegregation as he marked the 40th anniversary of the day when nine black students
integrated a Little Rock high school.
"Far too many communities are all-white, all-black, all-Latino, all-Asian. Indeed too many Americans of
all races have actually begun to give up on the idea of integration, and the search for common ground,"
Clinton told a crowd gathered outside the front steps of Central High School
It was on Sept. 25, 1957, when students now known as "the Little Rock Nine" desegregated the school
under the presence of Army troops enforcing a court order.
The incident was one of the ugliest in U.S. civilrightshistory. The black students were taunted and spat
on by angry whites when they attended school. The uproar was a defining moment for an 11-year-old
Arkansan named Bill Clinton, who as president has made mending the racial divide a central goal.
Clinton said the Little Rock Nine "gave up their innocence so all good people could have a chance to live
their dream."
"Forty years ago today, they climbed these steps, passed through this door and moved our nation, and for
that we must all thank them," he said, speaking at a podium set up in front of the doorway that the nine
students had entered.
Clinton said like many whites of his generation, he never went to school with black Americans until he
entered college.
"What happened here changed the course of our country forever," he said. "For surely it was here at
Central High that we took another giant step closer to the idea of America."
But there was much work left to be done, Clinton said.
"Today children of every race walk through the same door, but then they walk through different halls, not
only in this school but across America, they sit in different classrooms they eat at different tables, they
even sit in different parts of the bleachers at the football game," he said.
1 of 3
09/29/97 15:40:37
�He said a trend toward rolling back affirmative action programs granting preferences to minorities in
education "is slamming shut the doors of higher education on a new generation."
He said there is still discrimination in America, and "it is wrong, and we have to keep working on it, not
just with our voices but with our laws, and we have to engage each other in it."
After he spoke the now middle-aged Little Rock Nine walked up the steps - this time to the sound of
appfiiuse rather than taunts -- and walked into the school with Clinton himself holding open the door in a
symbolic gesture.
Emest Green, one of the nine, a bespectacled man with salt-and-pepper hair, said he and the other eight
students knew they faced trouble in integrating the school, but did not realize how hard it would be.
"With the naivete of youth we still hoped that maybe, just maybe, when we got to the front door we
would be met with openness instead of opposition. Unfortunately that was not the case," he told the
crowd.
"The larger community immediately began assaulting our character, our bodies, in attempts to suffocate
our spirit, to drive us back from where we came. Incredulous, they actually spoke that somehow our very
presence here would corrupt the academic environment, an assumption that today still mystifies me. I
believe now, as I did then, they didn't really know us.
H
A black woman, Fatima McKendra, an honor student and aspiring surgeon, is now student body president
at Central High. She addressed the crowd with a challenge.
"Are we to allow racism to eat away at the very fabric of our society, or are we going to finally face a
problem that has plagued our society for... generations?" she said.
There was a brief bomb scare six miles from the site of the speech which turned out to be a false alarm.
Bomb-sniffing dogs had given positive signals on suspected devices outside two abortion clinics in Little
Rock. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said no bomb was found at one location, and that "what
we're getting is that (the second suspected site) will be cleared shortly."
Mackin stressed that the bomb scare was in a distant part of town frprti where the ceremony involving
Clinton took place.
Earlier Related Stories
• Clinton Free-Trade Plea Cuts No Ice With Union - Wed Sen 24 7:03 om
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2 of 3
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�Page 2
LEVEL 3 - 2 OF 15 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 1997 The A d v e r t i s e r Company
The Montgomery A d v e r t i s e r
October 05, 1997, Sunday
SECTION: Op Ed; Pg. 3E
LENGTH: 611 words
HEADLINE: PRESIDENT'S EMPATHY SINCERE, BUT NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION
BYLINE: E.R. Shipp
BODY:
By almost any measure, P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n i s c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h
A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s . As a Southerner he no doubt knows, as I have l e a r n e d , t h a t
the aspect o f American c u l t u r e t h a t i s c o n s i d e r e d Southern i s as much
A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n as i t i s a n y t h i n g S c o t s - I r i s h .
But t h e p r e s i d e n t , who s i n c e r e l y wants t o b r i d g e t h e w h i t e - b l a c k r a c i a l
d i v i d e , seems t o confuse knowing t h e words t o t h e s p i r i t u a l s and b e i n g a b l e t o
keep a beat.
While he s i n c e r e l y wants t o b r i d g e t h e b l a c k - w h i t e d i v i d e , he confuses
empathy w i t h a c t i o n .
His c a n ' t - w e - a l l - g e t - a l o n g race r e l a t i o n s campaign has been aimed m o s t l y a t
those o f us i n t h e c h o i r .
I n May, a p o l o g i z i n g t o b l a c k Americans who'd been used as guinea p i g s i n a
40-year s y p h i l i s study, C l i n t o n r e c a l l e d "a time when our n a t i o n f a i l e d t o l i v e
up t o i t s i d e a l s , when our n a t i o n broke t h e t r u s t w i t h our people t h a t i s t h e
v e r y f o u n d a t i o n o f our democracy."
Black people a r e a l l t o o f a m i l i a r w i t h t h a t t i m e . I t has e x i s t e d s i n c e about
1619, when t h e n a t i o n was j u s t a bunch o f c o l o n i e s .
I n June, he s a i d i n h i s weekly r a d i o address: " e s t a n d today i n sharp
W
c o n t r a s t t o t h e r a c i a l , e t h n i c , t r i b a l and r e l i g i o u s c o n f l i c t s which c o n t i n u e t o
c l a i m so many l i v e s a l l around t h e w o r l d . But we have s t i l l n o t purged o u r s e l v e s
of a l l b i g o t r y and i n t o l e r a n c e . We s t i l l have our u g l y words and a w f u l v i o l e n c e ,
our burned churches and bombed b u i l d i n g s . " We know.
L a t e r t h a t month, a t t h e g r a d u a t i o n e x e r c i s e s o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f
C a l i f o r n i a , San Diego, where d i v e r s i t y i s as c e r t a i n as s u n r i s e , C l i n t o n spoke
of t h e race problem as "the most p e r p l e x i n g ... t h e o l d e s t and, i n some ways
today, t h e newest."
"Can we become one America i n t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y ? " he asked an audience t h a t
was c l e a r l y s i n g i n g from t h e same page as he.
And
i n J u l y he addressed t h e NAACP about " e d u c a t i o n , economic empowerment and
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The Montgomery Advertiser, October 05, 1997
racial reconciliation."
"We a r e changing v e r y r a p i d l y , " he s a i d a f t e r n o t i n g t h e n a t i o n ' s growing
r a c i a l and e t h n i c d i v e r s i t y . "And we have n o t g i v e n much t h o u g h t , n o t o n l y t o
how we're g o i n g t o h e a l o u r o l d wounds and meet o u r o l d c h a l l e n g e s , b u t how
we're g o i n g t o become one America i n t h e 21st c e n t u r y . "
I n a way, I suppose, t h e p r e s i d e n t ' s speech i n L i t t l e Rock l a s t week on t h e
4 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e s t r u g g l e t o i n t e g r a t e t h a t c i t y ' s C e n t r a l H i g h School
was h i s f i r s t f o r a y i n t o t e r r i t o r y where he a c t u a l l y r i s k e d o f f e n d i n g anyone.
Not t h a t Arkansans are n e c e s s a r i l y more r a c i s t t h a n New Yorkers. But people who
p a r t i c i p a t e d i n e f f o r t s t o p h y s i c a l l y keep b l a c k k i d s out o f C e n t r a l H i g h a r e
s t i l l a l i v e -- and n o t a l l o f them have a p o l o g i z e d as one woman, Hazel Bryan
Massery, d i d .
To most w h i t e people, C l i n t o n s a i d i n L i t t l e Rock, t h e b l a c k s t r u g g l e f o r
j u s t i c e and e q u a l i t y was u n t i l 1957 "mostly background music i n o u r normal,
s e l f - a b s o r b e d l i v e s . " That seems t o be t h e case today, f o r as t h e p r e s i d e n t
noted: "We r e t r e a t i n t o t h e c o m f o r t a b l e enclaves o f e t h n i c i s o l a t i o n . We j u s t
don't d e a l w i t h people who are d i f f e r e n t from us. S e g r e g a t i o n i s no l o n g e r t h e
law, b u t t o o o f t e n s e p a r a t i o n i s s t i l l t h e r u l e . "
Whites are not alone i n t h e s e p a r a t i o n b u s i n e s s ; many b l a c k s a c t i v e l y promote
the idea.
No p r e s i d e n t i a l p e r o r a t i o n s w i l l r e s o l v e t h i s problem, a l t h o u g h C l i n t o n ' s
seven-member a d v i s o r y committee on race has met t o map out s t r a t e g i e s . Maybe t h e
members w i l l come up w i t h works t o match t h e p r e s i d e n t ' s words. But i n t h e
meantime, more o f t h e r e s t o f us, as i n d i v i d u a l s , need t o f i g u r e out ways t o
work t o g e t h e r as Americans r a t h e r t h a n f i g h t t o t h e death as separate species.
his
And t h e p r e s i d e n t needs t o f i n d a r e a l l y c h a l l e n g i n g arena i n which t o take
l o v e - t h y - n e i g h b o r message.
LOAD-DATE: O c t o b e r 07, 1997
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LEVEL 3 - 8 OF 15 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 1997 Newsday, I n c .
Newsday (New York, NY)
September 29, 1997, Monday,
SECTION: VIEWPOINTS;
NASSAU AND SUFFOLK EDITION
Page A3 0
LENGTH: 3 73 words
HEADLINE: UNCERTAIN ROAD / CLINTON'S RIGHT TO PUSH FOR INTEGRATION; WHAT HE'S
NOT CLEAR ABOUT IS HOW TO GET THERE.
BODY:
I t was c l a s s i c B i l l C l i n t o n : Last week t h e p r e s i d e n t spoke w i t h h e a r t f e l t
eloquence about race r e l a t i o n s d u r i n g ceremonies t o commemorate t h e 4 0 t h
a n n i v e r s a r y o f L i t t l e Rock C e n t r a l High School's d e s e g r e g a t i o n . He was a t h i s
best when he emphasized t h a t i n t e g r a t i o n must remain a n a t i o n a l g o a l . But how
would C l i n t o n promote i n t e g r a t i o n ? U n f o r t u n a t e l y , some p a r t s o f h i s address were
more c o n f u s i n g t h a n i l l u m i n a t i n g .
" A f t e r a l l t h e weary years and s i l e n t t e a r s - a f t e r a l l t h e s t o n y roads and
b i t t e r r i d e s - t h e q u e s t i o n o f race i s i n t h e end s t i l l an a f f a i r o f t h e h e a r t , "
he s a i d . But i s i t ? For decades New York has pushed s o c i a l p o l i c i e s meant t o
nudge impoverished m i n o r i t i e s i n t o t h e middle c l a s s . The programs have been more
s u c c e s s f u l t h a n c r i t i c s acknowledge. And y e t , t h e y have l e f t way t o o many New
Yorkers - i n c l u d i n g many people o f c o l o r - behind. Hearts i n t h e r i g h t p l a c e
a r e n ' t enough.
"For t h e f i r s t t i m e s i n c e t h e 1950s, our schools i n America a r e
r e s e g r e g a t i n g , " t h e p r e s i d e n t s a i d . "The r o l l b a c k o f a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n i s
slamming shut t h e doors o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n on a new g e n e r a t i o n , w h i l e those who
oppose i t have n o t y e t p u t f o r w a r d any o t h e r a l t e r n a t i v e . " But does C l i n t o n
r e a l l y t h i n k d u a l standards f o r admission t o some u n i v e r s i t i e s - w i t h tougher
h u r d l e s f o r w h i t e s t h a n f o r m i n o r i t i e s - w i l l b r i n g races c l o s e r ? A t another
p o i n t , C l i n t o n s a i d : "We must n o t r e p l a c e t h e t y r a n n y o f s e g r e g a t i o n w i t h t h e
t r a g e d y o f low e x p e c t a t i o n s . " He's r i g h t , b u t doesn't t h i s c o n t r a d i c t h i s p l e a
f o r r a c i a l d i s p e n s a t i o n s i n c o l l e g e admissions?
To c l o u d t h i n g s more, he i n d i c a t e d t h a t , when he speaks about race, he's no
l o n g e r t a l k i n g about " j u s t b l a c k s and w h i t e s . . . b u t now people from a l l p a r t s
of t h e E a r t h " who immigrated here. And y e t , t o broaden t h e t o p i c beyond b l a c k s
and w h i t e s i s t o make i t v i r t u a l l y meaningless. I n New York C i t y a t t h e moment,
t h e r e a r e 222 d i f f e r e n t e t h n i c groups. So who's i n t h i s d i s c u s s i o n and who's
out?
Maybe C l i n t o n ' s new a d v i s o r y commission on race w i l l t a k e an honest l o o k a t
the i s s u e and break some new ground. Maybe i t can r e f i n e C l i n t o n ' s t h i n k i n g and
recommend ways t o achieve g r e a t e r r a c i a l harmony. A t any r a t e , w e ' l l keep our
f i n g e r s crossed.
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LEVEL 3 - 4 OF 15 STORIES
C o p y r i g h t 1997 Newsday, I n c .
Newsday (New York, NY)
October 2, 1997,
SECTION: VIEWPOINTS;
Thursday,
ALL EDITIONS
Page A50
LENGTH: 72 7 words
HEADLINE: BLACKS AND WHITES NEEDN'T MARCH ARM IN ARM
BYLINE: By Joseph Dolman. Joseph Dolman i s a member o f Newsday's e d i t o r i a l
board.
BODY:
WHAT A MISERABLE j o k e h i s t o r y has p l a y e d . When I was growing up 40 years ago
i n some d u s t y l i t t l e East Texas towns - n o t t o o f a r from B i l l C l i n t o n ' s Arkansas
- f a m i l i e s l i k e mine b e l i e v e d t h i s : I f you c o u l d j u s t i n t e g r a t e t h e s c h o o l s ,
r a c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s would m e l t away l i k e summer h a i l s t o n e s .
And why not? S i x - y e a r - o l d s don't come t o school poisoned w i t h hate, do they?
So when b l a c k k i d s and w h i t e k i d s go from f i r s t grade t h r o u g h h i g h school s i d e
by s i d e , t h e y ' l l l e a r n t o r e s p e c t each o t h e r as human b e i n g s . What's more, as
b l a c k s g e t b e t t e r e d u c a t i o n s , h i s t o r i c economic d i s p a r i t i e s w i l l f a d e . Hey, i t
sounded reasonable a t t h e t i m e .
But most '50s-era s o u t h e r n l i b e r a l s thought t h i s s c e n a r i o would p r o b a b l y
never happen because w h i t e r a c i a l p r e j u d i c e was so s t r o n g . Forget about t h e
c o u r t s , we thought - t h e c r a c k e r s who r u n t h i n g s i n t h i s p a r t o f t h e w o r l d are
h a t e - d r i v e n l i t t l e men who w i l l r e s i s t d e s e g r e g a t i o n f o r e v e r .
As i t t u r n s o u t , we were wrong.
The o l d system d i e d i n J a c k s o n v i l l e , Texas - where I used t o l i v e - about
1971, when l o c a l o f f i c i a l s decided i t was p o i n t l e s s t o keep d e l a y i n g f e d e r a l
d e s e g r e g a t i o n mandates. Throughout East Texas today, b l a c k k i d s and w h i t e now
a t t e n d school t o g e t h e r . T h e i r p a r e n t s work t o g e t h e r . They go t o t h e same h i g h
school f o o t b a l l games and t h e y cheer t h e same heroes.
But no, t h e y don't s o c i a l i z e a whole l o t - and t h e g o a l of economic e q u a l i t y
i s about as d i s t a n t as J u p i t e r .
So I understood t h e b i t t e r s w e e t undertone o f C l i n t o n ' s remarks l a s t week when
he s t o o d o u t s i d e L i t t l e Rock C e n t r a l H i g h and spoke about t h e need f o r
r e c o n c i l i a t i o n , harmony and f o r g i v e n e s s . While e v e r y t h i n g has changed, t h i s
i s n ' t t h e way we had expected i t t o work o u t .
As C l i n t o n p u t i t : "Today c h i l d r e n of every race walk t h r o u g h t h e same door,
b u t then t h e y o f t e n walk down d i f f e r e n t h a l l s . . . t h e y s i t i n d i f f e r e n t
classrooms, t h e y eat a t d i f f e r e n t t a b l e s . They even s i t i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f
the b l e a c h e r s a t t h e f o o t b a l l game . . . Indeed, many Americans o f a l l races
have begun t o g i v e up on t h e idea of i n t e g r a t i o n and t h e search f o r common
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ground."
Oh, yes, t h i s i s v e r y t r o u b l i n g . But l o o k i n g back, I t h i n k i t was always
e a s i e r f o r w h i t e s t o expect an i n s t a n t c o l o r b l i n d s o c i e t y t h a n b l a c k s . T r u t h be
t o l d , t o o many s o u t h e r n w h i t e l i b e r a l s thought t h a t once we i n v i t e d b l a c k s t o
the p a r t y , t h e y would g r a t e f u l l y a t t e n d - as i f t h e l a s t two o r t h r e e c e n t u r i e s
had never happened. But here's where I p a r t company w i t h C l i n t o n : At t h i s p o i n t ,
I don't t h i n k t h e r e ' s much government can do t o make people r e c o n c i l e and
embrace and f o r g i v e .
The o l d - t i m e s e g r e g a t i o n i s t s were wrong. You can l e g i s l a t e m o r a l i t y . What you
can't l e g i s l a t e i s a s p i r i t o f f r i e n d s h i p . Americans have t o f i n d o t h e r ways t o
seek common ground.
A few years ago, I asked Walt Session, a b l a c k c i t y councilman i n Rusk,
Texas, i f i t b o t h e r e d him t h a t - f o r a l l t h e progress we'd seen over t h e years w h i t e s and b l a c k s f a i l e d t o s o c i a l i z e i n t e n s i v e l y .
"No," he s a i d , a l i t t l e i n c r e d u l o u s l y . " I don't t h i n k we care about
s o c i a l i z i n g . We j u s t want equal r i g h t s . I c o u l d go uptown, I c o u l d p r o b a b l y
s o c i a l i z e w i t h somebody r i g h t now. But t h a t ' s not i m p o r t a n t . I ' d r a t h e r be i n a
b l a c k community - a good b l a c k community where you've got w e l l - k e p t decent
homes. I t h i n k I ' d f e e l more c o m f o r t a b l e b e i n g t h e r e even though I've been
w o r k i n g around w h i t e s f o r many, many y e a r s . "
And y e t , as C l i n t o n endeavors t o h e l p America u n l o a d i t s r a c i a l baggage, he
o f t e n sounds as i f he's s t u c k i n t h e '50s o f h i s c h i l d h o o d . " F o r t y years l a t e r ,
f r a n k l y , we know we're bound t o come back where we s t a r t e d , " he s a i d i n L i t t l e
Rock. " A f t e r a l l t h e weary years and s i l e n t t e a r s , a f t e r a l l t h e s t o n y roads and
b i t t e r r i d e s , t h e q u e s t i o n o f race i s i n t h e end s t i l l an a f f a i r of t h e h e a r t . "
Wrong, t o t a l l y wrong. The core q u e s t i o n s o f race today are more about u g l y
d i f f e r e n c e s a l o n g t h e f a u l t l i n e s o f e d u c a t i o n , income and h e a l t h . Forget about
a f f a i r s o f t h e h e a r t . Look a t New York's p o l y g l o t neighborhoods l i k e F l u s h i n g o r
Elmhurst. B r o a d l y speaking, t h e y work b e a u t i f u l l y - even though t h e y b r i s t l e
w i t h low-grade mutual e t h n i c s u s p i c i o n s . T h i s i s human n a t u r e , I'm a f r a i d .
Common ground? I ' l l p u t my money on b e t t e r i n n e r - c i t y schools and r e v i v e d
urban economies. I ' l l leave h e a r t r e p a i r t o t h e c a r d i o l o g i s t s .
GRAPHIC: Photo-Joseph Dolman
LANGUAGE: Eng1i sh
LOAD-DATE: October 2,
1997
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Michael Waldman
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Michael Waldman was Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting from 1995-1999. His responsibilities were writing and editing nearly 2,000 speeches, which included four State of the Union speeches and two Inaugural Addresses. From 1993 -1995 he served as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination.</p>
<p>The collection generally consists of copies of speeches and speech drafts, talking points, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, handwritten notes, articles, clippings, and presidential schedules. A large volume of this collection was for the State of the Union speeches. Many of the speech drafts are heavily annotated with additions or deletions. There are a lot of articles and clippings in this collection.</p>
<p>Due to the size of this collection it has been divided into two segments. Use links below for access to the individual segments:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+1">Segment One</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+2">Segment Two</a></p>
Creator
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Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993-1999
Identifier
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2006-0469-F
Extent
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Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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paper
Dublin Core
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Title
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9/25/97 MW [Michael Waldman] - LRC [Little Rock] Speeches
Creator
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Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
Is Part Of
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Box 31
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36404"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
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2006-0469-F Segment 2
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
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Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
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6/3/2015
Source
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7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg2-031-002-2015