HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAISY BATES, A "FEMINIST" BEFORE THE WORD WAS INVENTED

President of NAACP Arkansas Branch and the co-owner of a newspaper, Daisy Bates was a on the front lines in the fight against segregation.

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court, via Brown v Board of Education,  declared that school segregation unconstitutional in the United States. That legal change on paper had to be challenged in reality. And Daisy Bates was one of those that led the charge.

Little Rock Nine

"In 1957, she helped nine African American students to become the first to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, who became known as the Little Rock Nine. The group first tried to go to the school on September 4.



A group of angry whites jeered at them as they arrived. The governor, Orval Faubus, opposed school integration and sent members of the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school...

Bates’ home became the headquarters for the battle to integrate Central High School and she served as a personal advocate and supporter to the students. President Dwight D. Eisenhower became involved in the conflict and ordered federal troops to go to Little Rock to uphold the law and protect the Little Rock Nine."

Eventually Bates and The Little Rock Nine Prevailed.Daisy Bates, November 11, 1914 - 1999 

Read More:
http://www.biography.com/people/daisy-bates-206524#little-rock-nine