The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is hosting a series of free, educational pop-up programs this month about the Little Rock Nine and the 1957 Desegregation Crisis, culminating in an anniversary commemoration with four of the Little Rock Nine.
The first event, titled “Beyond 1500 Park Street,” is scheduled for Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. at the National Historic Site, 2120 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.
In the evening, the site will host a conversation between Omavi Shukur, assistant professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and Jim Ross, professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (Ross is a regular guest contributor to the Arkansas Times, and Shukur has written two pieces for the Times.)
On Sept. 18, staff will host “Through the Lens: Media and the Little Rock Crisis,” exploring the role media played in the crisis.
The 69th Commemoration of the Little Rock Nine is set for Sept. 25, at 6 p.m., at Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, 1109 S. State St. Four of the seven surviving Little Rock Nine will speak, though organizers have not revealed which four will be there.
Real-time, in-person talks and events like these have taken on more importance in the face of ongoing censorship at the hands of the federal government. The Trump administration has previously censored the national historic site’s website, which includes myriad information about the crisis and the Little Rock Nine, as well as documentation of the site’s efforts to continue teaching about it and its collaborations on projects with students at Central High School. Some pages were restored after reporting about the censorship was published, but the site has yet to return to its original state.