Reflective Questions


1			In the case study about the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, it is suggested that this episode in the history of the Civil Rights movement remains in the public mind. Why do you think that might be the case?




2			One of the difficulties in the Little Rock situation was that members of the school board wanted to take a gradual road to integration, and others, largely the families of black children, were impatient with waiting, something they had been doing, for all practical purposes, since the Civil War. Which of these positions do you think might ultimately be the best approach to significant change? Why?




3			How would you have liked to be one of the "Little Rock Nine"? How do you think you would have reacted to the fact that you needed armed guards to enter school? How would you have reacted to the shouts and slurs of those on the streets who didn't want to see you enter that building? Would you think it was worth it?




4			Why do you think it took 15 years to finally integrate all the schools in Little Rock? Think about some factors that probably contributed to the long, slow process of integration.