Little Rock 9 recognized for heroism
JANE FULLERTONARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
WASHINGTON -- Forty-two years after they walked through the doors of Central High School, the Little Rock Nine walked across the stage at the White House to receive Congress' highest civilian honor for their "selfless heroism" in the face of racial intolerance.
During a Tuesday afternoon ceremony filled with somber reflection and joyous celebration, President Clinton presented the Congressional Gold Medal to each of the nine students who integrated Central during the crisis atmosphere of 1957.
"This has been a long journey. The last 42 years represent a commitment that none of us had any idea would result in this. We were really ordinary people," said Ernest Green, a Little Rock Nine member speaking on behalf of the group. Green, the first black to graduate from Central, is now a managing director at Lehman Brothers in Washington and a confidant of the president.
"It has been a long journey, but I think each of us would consider it worthwhile," he added. "While the sacrifices have been great, we recognized in 1957 that it was not an easy journey."
The ornate East Room was filled to capacity for the event with some three dozen members of Congress -- including all six of Arkansas' members -- numerous Cabinet secretaries and administration officials, and about 50 people who made the trip from Little Rock.
The Little Rock Nine -- Green; Melba Pattillo Beals of San Francisco; Elizabeth Eckford of Little Rock; Gloria Ray Karlmark of the Netherlands; Carlotta Walls LaNier of Denver; Terrence Roberts of Pasadena, Calif.; Jefferson A. Thomas of Columbus, Ohio; Minnijean Brown Trickey of Ontario; and Thelma Jean Mothershed Wair of Belleville, Ill. -- sat in the front row on the dais under portraits of George and Martha Washington.
"This has been much too long in coming," said former Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., who, along with Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sponsored the legislation that honored the Little Rock Nine. The two also sponsored the legislation that designated Central High a national historic site.
"A lot of people do laudable things, and some people do sort of brave things, but very few people do truly historic things -- and heroic," Bumpers said. "These nine children were asked to be both brave and heroic, and they were. Their place in history is finally etched and will never be erased."
The one person who wasn't on hand for the ceremony was Daisy Bates, the civil-rights pioneer who mentored the nine students throughout the integration crisis. Bates died Thursday at 84, and her funeral was held Tuesday morning in North Little Rock just hours before the White House ceremony -- a point that was not overlooked.
Green, who had placed flowers on behalf of the Little Rock Nine next to Bates' coffin Monday as she lay in state at the state Capitol, asked for a moment of silence in her memory.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said his first reaction to Bates' death was sadness that she wouldn't be on hand to see her students receive their awards.
But, he said, "I think Mrs. Bates is here today, smiling down on us."
In his remarks, Clinton recalled his own days growing up in a South where "segregation was a way of life." When these nine students exercised their right to an equal education, he said, "they changed the way we were."
For that, the president said, they paid a steep price.
"They taught us that you can turn your cheek from violence without averting your eyes to injustice. And they taught us that they could pay their price and go on."
The lesson people should take from the experience of the Little Rock Nine, Clinton said, is that all people share a "common humanity."
"The truth is, almost all children know that," he said. "They have to be taught differently. Because so many were taught differently, it fell to these nine Americans when they were young, as children, to become our teachers. And because they taught us well, we are a better country. And we honor them today, but let us not forget to heed their lessons."
Both Clinton and Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., noted that the ceremony occurred on the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. "We salute you nine brave souls who helped bring down the wall of hatred, misunderstanding and prejudice," Hutchinson said.
The nine gave meaning to the Constitution, Hutchinson said.
"They quietly but resolutely persevered, and their courage forced this nation to come to terms with the incongruity of revering the Declaration of Independence while simultaneously denying the fundamental truth that all men are created equal," he said.
For Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., the lesson of Central was personal.
"There is no question in my mind," she said, "that my life is more productive because of what you did. ... Thank you for having the personal fortitude to endure so people like me could come behind you."
In his comments, Daschle recounted how Eckford, in an image that has come to symbolize the racial conflict of the era, walked through the hostile crowd "with her eyes on the prize."
In the audience was another person captured in that famous photo -- Hazel Massery of Little Rock, whose face was filled with rage as she taunted Eckford in the schoolyard. The two women have since reconciled, and Massery said it was an honor to be on hand for the event, which she said symbolized "one America -- that the creed of America matches the deeds of America."
Also on hand were several members of the family of Dwight Eisenhower, the president who called out federal troops to protect the Little Rock Nine as they entered the school building. The timing was coincidental, as Clinton had signed a bill earlier in the day renaming a federal building for Eisenhower, but the presence of his look-alike son, John, on the front row made it appear Ike himself was in attendance.
After Clinton's comments, the resolution was read awarding the medals to the Little Rock Nine "in recognition of the selfless heroism such individuals exhibited and the pain they suffered in the cause of civil rights by integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas."
The gold medals, created by the U.S. Mint, are embossed with an image of the students climbing the steps to the schoolhouse doors with armed guards standing watch and the words "The Little Rock Nine, 1957."
Clinton, who clearly enjoyed presenting the medals, bestowed hugs and kisses on each recipient. When Eckford, an Army veteran, rose to receive hers, she offered a salute to the commander-in-chief; he returned the greeting.
After he passed out the medals, the event culminated with an exuberant rendition of "We Will Be Free," which ended with everyone on the stage and in the audience joining hands to sing along.
This article was published on Wednesday, November 10, 1999
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