Last fall we revisited one of the most important sites in America’s struggle over civil rights. Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is an impressive building where violence and bravery characterized a confrontation that became a watershed in our country’s desegregation of public schools.

The high school stretching over two city blocks is still in use and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The art deco and gothic building is the central feature of Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, a National Park Service unit that includes a visitor center, commemorative garden and an adjacent restored gas station that served as an office for reporters during the conflict that began in 1957.

The historic site describes events that led to the confrontation in which Gov. Orval Faubus marshaled the National Guard to resist integration of the school, along with the resulting violence and bravery of those involved. Finally, it interprets what it all meant and how it altered public education.

The visitor center is filled with displays that chronicle and interpret the importance of the events at Little Rock Central. Of particular interest to us were clips from television news programs about the confrontations. The Park Service also schedules a variety of special events throughout the year.

The confrontation at Central High School followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision that public school segregation is unconstitutional. The ruling reversed the court’s 1896 “separate but equal” doctrine, which had justified mandates in many states that white and black children attend different schools.

The NAACP had considered where to push for enforcement of the 1954 decision and settled on Little Rock. Under court order, the superintendent developed several proposals including one for gradual desegregation that was approved by the school board. It called for integration of Central High School in fall 1957 and integration of the city’s junior high schools in 1960.

Soliciting volunteers, the NAACP selected nine students with excellent grades and strong character who would become forever known as the “Little Rock Nine.” They would not qualify for bussing and would be unable to participate in extracurricular activities.

On the evening prior to their enrollment, Faubus, who planned to run for reelection, announced his intention to use the Arkansas National Guard to prohibit the students from entering the school. Blocked by guardsmen and threatened by bystanders, the students didn’t attempt to enter Little Rock Central on the first day of class.

Defiance of the federal desegregation spread across the South. President Dwight Eisenhower met with Faubus, hoping to persuade him to allow the Little Rock students entry. Once a judge ruled the governor had not properly used the Guard, Faubus withdrew the guardsmen, leaving only local police to maintain order.

When the students were finally able to enter Little Rock Central, their success was short lived. Outside the school a mob took to violence against the press and the students’ supporters. The nine were able to escape into waiting vehicles, but the ugly scene spawned national headlines.

The escalating violence prompted Eisenhower to order the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne to Little Rock. The soldiers – along with federalized National Guardsmen – escorted and protected the students for the remainder of the academic year.

The lone senior of the Little Rock Nine graduated in May 1958. The others weren’t so lucky. The governor closed all four of the city’s public high schools the following year. They reopened under federal order a year later, after what became known as “the lost year.”

Two of the Little Rock Nine returned and graduated in 1960. Another received a Central High School diploma through correspondence courses.

The rest received high school diplomas from different schools.

The violence, lawsuits and response from the federal government made the showdown in Little Rock one of the important turning points in America’s struggle over civil rights.

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot). Visit them at www.valdosta.edu/dlscott/Scott