William Pryor: “I thank my colleagues for something they have done not just for me or even for the city of Little Rock or the State of…”

“I thank my colleagues for something they have done not just for me or even for the city of Little Rock or the State of Arkansas but for the country. They are trying to help on a project we are working on, Little Rock Central High School. In 1957, the two biggest stories in the world that year were Sputnik and Little Rock Central High School because Little Rock was the first major southern school district to try to integrate their schools to try to follow the law as laid out in Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, KS, and to try with all deliberate speed to integrate their schools. They took that charge seriously and, as we all know, the situation there got chaotic and very difficult. There has been a lot written about it. It is one of the major milestones in the history of the struggle for civil rights in this country. In September of 2007, Little Rock Central will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High. We all know the story of the Little Rock Nine--Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Thelma Mothershed Wair, and Melba Pattillo Beals. We all know the story of these brave children who went into the lion's den, so to speak, to strike a blow against the old system of 'separate but equal' that was not working, and was fair. That was not right.”