Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

PARK OVERVIEW

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site preserves the sites associated with the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American high school students who attempted to integrate Little Rock Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the start of the 1957 school year. This was in response to a the landmark United States Supreme Count decision in Brown v. Board of Education (May 17, 1954) that ruled racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional. This overturned a long-standing Supreme Court decision from 1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson) that ruled segregation was legal as long as races were treated equally and had access to facilities and social programs of equal quality.

The park was established on November 6, 1998, during the Bill Clinton administration. It includes Little Rock Central High School, a Visitor Center and museum, the Central High Commemorative Garden, the Magnolia Mobil Service Station, and the Elizabeth Eckford Bus Bench. All sites are within a short walk from each other. Park Rangers give tours of the high school grounds, but due to the school still being a functioning high school, the tours do not enter the school. The school is closed to the public at all times, even during the summer, though visitors are welcome to walk the school grounds. The service station is also closed to the public.