You decide to protest against desegregation. The city shouldn’t have to change its way of life. You go downtown on September 4. Hundreds of whites line the streets. Some carry signs that read “We won’t integrate” and “No Negroes.”
You stand with the rows of people across from the school. The grounds are surrounded by hundreds of National Guard soldiers with guns. It looks like a war zone. A few people parade down the street with their signs.
Then one black girl arrives at the edge of the property. She is wearing a freshly ironed white blouse and checkered skirt. No one is with her. She clutches her books close as she tries to walk behind the line of soldiers to the school door. But the guard points her to the crowd. It’s clear that the soldiers aren’t there to help her.
The girl crosses the road. She has to walk past you to get to the school. The crowd backs up. You give her space to walk. The crowd follows right behind her. They start to yell. You join in shouting, “2, 4, 6, 8, we ain’t gonna integrate.”
The soldiers raise their guns when the girl tries to enter the school. The sun glints on the bayonets on the end of the guns. The soldiers are blocking the girl from entering the school.
People screamed at Elizabeth Eckford as she tried to enter the school.
This stirs up the crowd. If the girl doesn’t get in the school, the world will see that Little Rock can’t be pushed around. The shouting grows angrier. The crowd moves closer to the black girl. People scream right into her ears as she walks. “Coloreds don’t belong here!” “Go home, Negro!” “Lynch her! Lynch her!” An old woman spits in the girl’s face.
You can see the girl wants to get out of here. She walks quickly to the bus stop down the block. The crowd chases after her. You know she must be scared.
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