Bill Clinton: “I also want to make another point that I think might have been passed over. Ernie mentioned this. Arkansas was actually…”

“I also want to make another point that I think might have been passed over. Ernie mentioned this. Arkansas was actually a good candidate for a peaceful, successful integration of Little Rock Central High School. We were the first State in the South to integrate our law school. We had an integrated medical school. We had a newspaper in Little Rock, the Arkansas Gazette, which was, I think, one of the--by any standard--one of the finest papers in the country, which was strongly supportive of integration. We had a lot of leadership, white leadership, in Little Rock that was strongly supportive of integration. And in cases like this, when countries or cities or States can go one way or the other, the impact of leadership is pivotal. When the Governor called out the National Guard to stop the integration, it wasn't even all that popular in Little Rock; a lot of the white people didn't like it. But it was wildly popular out in our State in the more rural areas where the racial animosity was greater and the fear of change was greater. And so it was a politically popular decision. But it wrecked the chance we had to become the first southern State that would really have a beginning statewide successful, peaceful integration. Later when Atlanta began to integrate, a lot of leaders in Atlanta looked at what happened in Little Rock and said, ``We don't want that to happen here, and we're not going to permit it.'' Very interesting. So how people behave in times of crisis is very important and makes a big difference. The Court decision still is carried out by people, and as I said, what's in their heart makes a difference. Do you have any questions for them? Any more? [A student asked Mr. Green how he felt on his first day at Central High School. Mr. Green replied that he and his companions were fearful, but television coverage of their struggle reinforced their determination to continue. Another student asked how Mr. Green's brother felt about the situation. Mr. Green said his brother thought he was a little crazy at the time but that his brother was now in the building trades, an opportunity he thought was directly attributable to the Brown decision. A student then asked Mr. Marshall how the Brown decision affected his life. Mr. Marshall responded that it gave him a perspective on current problems such as racism and violence and reminded him of the need for common efforts to oppose the politics of division.]”