This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Monday, September 27, 2010
PERIOD 3 - Little Rock High School
Today you watched the documentary "Little Rock High School" in class. Please share your thoughts about the film with the class.
To see true evidence of the racism and violence people turned to in the realm of anti-segregation is moving. I couldn't help but look at one woman diss the African American race to a news reporter and think..."What a horrible person." While my thought was harsh, I just couldn't understand why she and the rest of the white people of the time were so against African Americans. I understand that I probably cannot relate to whites as times have changed, and it is now making sense to me why Eisenhower demanded such be filmed. What happened in the 50s at Little Rock High School have become more real to me than they ever have been, as words in a text book simply cannot compare to seeing it happen through film.
I thought that the film clearly showed the racism and violence that was targeted towards the nine African American students. I was shocked when I watched an African American reporter be pushed and punched because he was mistaken for one of the nine African American students fathers. I could not believe that a person could be so cruel to another human being. The hardships that occurred in Little Rock are extremely sad based on how the African American race was treated.
I agree with Meredith when she sad that she could not believe how the white people were so cruel to the African Americans. In my point of view I cannot understand how anyone could be so cruel to a human being based on the color of his or her skin.
This film truel showed how real racism was throught the mid 1900's in America. African Americans were treated as though they werent even human. People believed that just because whites gave them a school it made them equal, even if that school was in poor condition and maybe miles away from the homes of students. The govenor of Arkansas was so against the idea of desegregating that he went against the authority of the federal government and found ways to avoid certain laws. This film was an eye opener to the intensity of racism and how much violence took place during it. I think it was important for us to see this, so that we could understand that even 50 years ago racism was still very well alive and still goes on today.
I didnt really realize what the 1950s were like until i saw this film. little rock was not considered to be a highly racist area, but it was very apparent that racist actions were prevelant throughout this Arkansas town. In my opinion, little rock was a milestone in the movement for blacks to obtain the same rights as whites had. I think the theory behind the actions taken place in little rock were that if one town in the United States can become integrated, then they all can.
The idea of desegregating the country was fine in Arkansas as they had already desegregated most things like public transportation and public food areas. The difference is that once they wanted to desegregate the schools all of the white people within Little Rock wanted to have nothing to do with desegregation. They were racist because this represented a big change to them; they didn't want the African Americans to get the same education as their own children and wanted to keep them under their foot. I find that the Governor was the worst of them all because he wanted to not only keep African Americans out of the public school system, but he also tried to defy the Federal Government even though they had already ruled that separate was unequal.
I thought the film showed how racism and violence can and did in this situation stem from fear and ignorance. The white community was so bothered by nine innocent African-Americans just trying to get an education. Some of the words and actions said and done by the white community left me angry and like Meredith said thinking they were horrible. I did like the end of the film when the showed the kids and how some had graduated, I admired their courage and strength.
After seeing the film I was surprised that Mr. Gallagher had made the point that less than 98% of the American populations has seen footage like in "Little Rock High School". I believe that every student in America should witness this film. One words or pictures can true capture the events that took place during the desegregation of schools. President Esienhower was correct for wanting to get that footage, but would be disappointed told if he saw the lack of awareness for the events that took place.
It's awful to look back on 1957 and see people use harsh language and turn to violence because 9 colored students entered the school. Things are so different today!! But I still think it's important to remember the colored people's fight for equality, as is the case with the Holocaust. It's a big pat of our history and should not be forgotten. Although, it's kinda really sad that many people haven't seen the same footage as we did in the film... The one part that confused me though?? They said that after the Little Rock 9 graduated, the whites went back to being totally accepting toward the whites. I don't understand why they put up such a HUGE fight to prevent the schools from being desegregated if they were already living peacefully with the colored civilians in the first place.
Like Michael Doran, I too was shocked at the cruelty of the whites toward the reporter that was thought to be the father of one of the nine. Sadly, white people's actions similar to these were seen everywhere throughout the country because of racial prejudice.
It was kind of scary to see how racist and violent some people used to be. I'm glad we got a chance to watch this because I did not understand how much of a conflict this actually ended up being. I definitely think that Meredith was right when she said she could not believe how awful the white people were to the blacks and the fact that a text book cannot describe what we got to see in class today.
The thing that stood out to me the most in today's film was the fact that it was an issue so close to home and an issue that was an issue in Boston all the way into a 90's and can still be seen today in some places. You never really think of Boston as a hotbed for racial tension and violence. We're taught that the South were the bad guys and that their cities are filled with racism and bigotry. Not until you look into it, you see Boston as one of these cities as well. I'm lucky because my parents have first hand accounts of these events because they lived in Boston all their lives, so they had some interesting stories when I brought this up. My mom can recount that not a single black cab driver would drive her home to South Boston because of the potential hate and violence that could be shown to that person.
This was the second time i have watched this film and found that i was able to pull the positives out of it instead of the first time where i was shocked by the people’s behavior. The strength that it must have taken the little rock 9 to attend school was awesome to see, my favorite was the story about the girl who poured the chili on a white boy at lunch. What went on in this film was awful, but no one gave up and they fought for what they thought was right.
Andrew, i also think this film should be shown more in classes.
This film was ment to show how whites truly treated african-americans through out the 1900's, and how even though african-americans are people they were treated like animals. The federal government had to intervene to have Little Rock desegrated.
This kind of film is something that unfortunately is not shown enough around the U.S. to increase the awareness of what actually happened in our own country during that time. I thought to myself during the movie how many people have actually seen this kind of real footage on the Civil Rights Movement and how many of them really lacked knowledge of what it was really like. I had seen that footage last year and that first time it was for my own knowledge, but watching it for the second I realized that very little people know what these films contain and how serious it was.
I agree with Meredith completely when she talks about why Eisenhower wanted this to be filmed. As I said before without many people seeing this footage it is hard for me to believe they actually know serious this was and that it is just indescribable and can only be shown on video.
I think it's interesting how people against minorities will try to use state rights as a shield from the federal government trying to get them to end a racist practice. I'd like to say that they are hiding behind what appears to be a legitimate issue to prevent people from having their rights. But I don't know if I can say that for certain or if they really felt powerless in the clutches of higher authority.
I believe this film should be shown more often to students around the country. These were such recent events and many do not know the extent that these wen to. In order to appreciate the hardships that blacks went through, students must watch the live footage.
I agree with Doran. I thought it was ridiculous how they were harassing a single a black man in the middle of the street over and over again and nothing was done about it. Today, I can't even imagine something like that happening to anyone without at lease the police stepping in. This movie has just opened my eyes to the real hardships blacks faced.
After seeing this film, I learned how predjudice can lead to violence and racism so fast. All of the whites were basically going crazy when nine innocent colored children were to attend their school. It suddenly became a huge controversy and it is scary how fast something like this can happen.
I think that this really show's how intense the violence and racism was back then. It was wrong how one human being could be so cruel to another just because the color of your skin. This film really show to what extent the racists would go to and how brutal it was. It was very interesting to learn about this and really showed me how awful people can be.
What was really shocking to me about the film was how the governor of Arkansas over stepped the supreme court ruling by delaying integration and how he went behind president Eisenhower's back, all with out consequence. The idea of a governor simply doing what he wants and defying the supreme court and president of the united states is appalling.
I also agree with Andrew's point that this film should be shown to many more history students than it has been in the past.
I had learned about what happened during this time and this place before, but it was much different to see it. It was terrible to see the discrimination and blatant racism that happened on a daily basis. People openly separated blacks and whites and wanted to create two completely separate societies. I thought it was really terrible that the K.K.K was allowed to get away with the things they did, I hope our country never gets this bad and shameful again.
I thought that it is amazing that the white people in the town had such a strong aggression towards the black students just becuase of the color of their skin. It made me wonder where people got this idea that blacks were stupid and worthless, and i honestly feel bad that they african americans had to go through all of these thigns just becuase the color fo their skin.
I agree with andrew and find it very suprising that 98% of people have not seen this film.
27 comments:
I was not in class today to see this film.
To see true evidence of the racism and violence people turned to in the realm of anti-segregation is moving. I couldn't help but look at one woman diss the African American race to a news reporter and think..."What a horrible person." While my thought was harsh, I just couldn't understand why she and the rest of the white people of the time were so against African Americans. I understand that I probably cannot relate to whites as times have changed, and it is now making sense to me why Eisenhower demanded such be filmed. What happened in the 50s at Little Rock High School have become more real to me than they ever have been, as words in a text book simply cannot compare to seeing it happen through film.
I thought that the film clearly showed the racism and violence that was targeted towards the nine African American students. I was shocked when I watched an African American reporter be pushed and punched because he was mistaken for one of the nine African American students fathers. I could not believe that a person could be so cruel to another human being. The hardships that occurred in Little Rock are extremely sad based on how the African American race was treated.
I agree with Meredith when she sad that she could not believe how the white people were so cruel to the African Americans. In my point of view I cannot understand how anyone could be so cruel to a human being based on the color of his or her skin.
This film truel showed how real racism was throught the mid 1900's in America. African Americans were treated as though they werent even human. People believed that just because whites gave them a school it made them equal, even if that school was in poor condition and maybe miles away from the homes of students. The govenor of Arkansas was so against the idea of desegregating that he went against the authority of the federal government and found ways to avoid certain laws. This film was an eye opener to the intensity of racism and how much violence took place during it. I think it was important for us to see this, so that we could understand that even 50 years ago racism was still very well alive and still goes on today.
I didnt really realize what the 1950s were like until i saw this film. little rock was not considered to be a highly racist area, but it was very apparent that racist actions were prevelant throughout this Arkansas town. In my opinion, little rock was a milestone in the movement for blacks to obtain the same rights as whites had. I think the theory behind the actions taken place in little rock were that if one town in the United States can become integrated, then they all can.
The idea of desegregating the country was fine in Arkansas as they had already desegregated most things like public transportation and public food areas. The difference is that once they wanted to desegregate the schools all of the white people within Little Rock wanted to have nothing to do with desegregation. They were racist because this represented a big change to them; they didn't want the African Americans to get the same education as their own children and wanted to keep them under their foot. I find that the Governor was the worst of them all because he wanted to not only keep African Americans out of the public school system, but he also tried to defy the Federal Government even though they had already ruled that separate was unequal.
I was not present in class today.
I thought the film showed how racism and violence can and did in this situation stem from fear and ignorance. The white community was so bothered by nine innocent African-Americans just trying to get an education. Some of the words and actions said and done by the white community left me angry and like Meredith said thinking they were horrible. I did like the end of the film when the showed the kids and how some had graduated, I admired their courage and strength.
I was not in class today to see this film.
I was absent from this period and missed the film
After seeing the film I was surprised that Mr. Gallagher had made the point that less than 98% of the American populations has seen footage like in "Little Rock High School". I believe that every student in America should witness this film. One words or pictures can true capture the events that took place during the desegregation of schools. President Esienhower was correct for wanting to get that footage, but would be disappointed told if he saw the lack of awareness for the events that took place.
Abssent the day of the film
It's awful to look back on 1957 and see people use harsh language and turn to violence because 9 colored students entered the school. Things are so different today!! But I still think it's important to remember the colored people's fight for equality, as is the case with the Holocaust. It's a big pat of our history and should not be forgotten. Although, it's kinda really sad that many people haven't seen the same footage as we did in the film... The one part that confused me though?? They said that after the Little Rock 9 graduated, the whites went back to being totally accepting toward the whites. I don't understand why they put up such a HUGE fight to prevent the schools from being desegregated if they were already living peacefully with the colored civilians in the first place.
Like Michael Doran, I too was shocked at the cruelty of the whites toward the reporter that was thought to be the father of one of the nine. Sadly, white people's actions similar to these were seen everywhere throughout the country because of racial prejudice.
Oops. Typo:
* after the Little Rock 9 graduated, the whites went back to being totally accepting toward the COLORED [not whites!]
It was kind of scary to see how racist and violent some people used to be. I'm glad we got a chance to watch this because I did not understand how much of a conflict this actually ended up being. I definitely think that Meredith was right when she said she could not believe how awful the white people were to the blacks and the fact that a text book cannot describe what we got to see in class today.
The thing that stood out to me the most in today's film was the fact that it was an issue so close to home and an issue that was an issue in Boston all the way into a 90's and can still be seen today in some places. You never really think of Boston as a hotbed for racial tension and violence. We're taught that the South were the bad guys and that their cities are filled with racism and bigotry. Not until you look into it, you see Boston as one of these cities as well. I'm lucky because my parents have first hand accounts of these events because they lived in Boston all their lives, so they had some interesting stories when I brought this up. My mom can recount that not a single black cab driver would drive her home to South Boston because of the potential hate and violence that could be shown to that person.
This was the second time i have watched this film and found that i was able to pull the positives out of it instead of the first time where i was shocked by the people’s behavior. The strength that it must have taken the little rock 9 to attend school was awesome to see, my favorite was the story about the girl who poured the chili on a white boy at lunch. What went on in this film was awful, but no one gave up and they fought for what they thought was right.
Andrew, i also think this film should be shown more in classes.
This film was ment to show how whites truly treated african-americans through out the 1900's, and how even though african-americans are people they were treated like animals. The federal government had to intervene to have Little Rock desegrated.
This kind of film is something that unfortunately is not shown enough around the U.S. to increase the awareness of what actually happened in our own country during that time. I thought to myself during the movie how many people have actually seen this kind of real footage on the Civil Rights Movement and how many of them really lacked knowledge of what it was really like. I had seen that footage last year and that first time it was for my own knowledge, but watching it for the second I realized that very little people know what these films contain and how serious it was.
I agree with Meredith completely when she talks about why Eisenhower wanted this to be filmed. As I said before without many people seeing this footage it is hard for me to believe they actually know serious this was and that it is just indescribable and can only be shown on video.
I think it's interesting how people against minorities will try to use state rights as a shield from the federal government trying to get them to end a racist practice. I'd like to say that they are hiding behind what appears to be a legitimate issue to prevent people from having their rights. But I don't know if I can say that for certain or if they really felt powerless in the clutches of higher authority.
I believe this film should be shown more often to students around the country. These were such recent events and many do not know the extent that these wen to. In order to appreciate the hardships that blacks went through, students must watch the live footage.
I agree with Doran. I thought it was ridiculous how they were harassing a single a black man in the middle of the street over and over again and nothing was done about it. Today, I can't even imagine something like that happening to anyone without at lease the police stepping in. This movie has just opened my eyes to the real hardships blacks faced.
After seeing this film, I learned how predjudice can lead to violence and racism so fast. All of the whites were basically going crazy when nine innocent colored children were to attend their school. It suddenly became a huge controversy and it is scary how fast something like this can happen.
I think that this really show's how intense the violence and racism was back then. It was wrong how one human being could be so cruel to another just because the color of your skin. This film really show to what extent the racists would go to and how brutal it was. It was very interesting to learn about this and really showed me how awful people can be.
What was really shocking to me about the film was how the governor of Arkansas over stepped the supreme court ruling by delaying integration and how he went behind president Eisenhower's back, all with out consequence. The idea of a governor simply doing what he wants and defying the supreme court and president of the united states is appalling.
I also agree with Andrew's point that this film should be shown to many more history students than it has been in the past.
I had learned about what happened during this time and this place before, but it was much different to see it. It was terrible to see the discrimination and blatant racism that happened on a daily basis. People openly separated blacks and whites and wanted to create two completely separate societies. I thought it was really terrible that the K.K.K was allowed to get away with the things they did, I hope our country never gets this bad and shameful again.
I thought that it is amazing that the white people in the town had such a strong aggression towards the black students just becuase of the color of their skin. It made me wonder where people got this idea that blacks were stupid and worthless, and i honestly feel bad that they african americans had to go through all of these thigns just becuase the color fo their skin.
I agree with andrew and find it very suprising that 98% of people have not seen this film.
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