Terrence J. Roberts, Ph.D.

My name is Terrence J.Roberts, one of the group of nine African American men and women known to the world as The Little Rock Nine. We were teenagers in 1957 when Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas, called out the Arkansas State National Guard in his efforts to block our entry to Central High, a school reserved by law until that time for white students. In order for us to enter Central in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v Board of Education, Topeka, KS, it was necessary for then President Dwight Eisenhower to send the 101st division of the United States Army to escort us to school. The Brown decision had concluded that it was no longer constitutional for public schools in the United States to remain segregated. This decision was not well received generally by the American public and was seen as especially grievous by many of the white citizens of Little Rock. As one of the very first responses to the Brown decision, the Little Rock School Board’s plan to desegregate schools was met with boisterous opposition. Governor Faubus, elected to fill six terms as Governor of Arkansas, did not act alone, he was simply the identified leader of the opposition. The Governor and others of his ilk felt that the Supreme Court had overstepped a sacred boundary. The conviction that the races in America should remain separate and apart from each other was housed at bone marrow levels for a large number of white Americans who lived in Little Rock and elsewhere in these United States. Over one hundred members of the United States Congress signed the “Southern Manifesto” in which they vowed to do whatever was in their power to block implementation of the Brown decision. This unyielding opposition helped to create a school year filled with life-threatening circumstances for the nine of us, and was the cause of much physical and psychological distress for us and others as well as economic disruption including loss of jobs and businesses for a significant number of black and white citizens in Little Rock.

For the past fifty years I have thought about what I need to say to you, the reader, about that experience. It is clear to me that I do need to include my voice among the many who have spoken or written about that time and that experience. The reasons are myriad, not the least of which is my desire to speak my own truth about that chaotic time, to leave a record for those who want to know what happened to me during that bizarre school year, to further explain to my daughters how and why such an experience was necessary, to communicate to my grandsons about their grandfather’s life history, and finally, to counter those ever more vocal revisionists who would have us believe that the nine of us were warmly embraced by the majority of white administrators, teachers and students at Central High, that things were not so bad as some would suggest. As I attempted to put my thoughts and feelings on paper in years past, I would invariably bump into unresolved emotions and would have to take time to sort through those painful reminders of my time at Central. Most of that emotional debris has been cleared away and I am now ready to share my thoughts with you.

It is my intent also to tell you about my life in Little Rock and how and why I chose to join this small group of “warriors.” Hopefully what I have to say will help you understand the circumstances that led me to participate in the integration of Central High School, and to give you a personal perspective that will add to your understanding of some of the things that transpired during that year. I do not intend to provide a comprehensive overview of all that happened, but I will tell you my story. I am more convinced each day that telling our stories to each other is the way we learn best what our collective life is all about, the way we understand who we really are and how our stories are intertwined and what this reality means for us now and what it portends for the future.

In writing about my life I will, of course, introduce you to the people who played significant roles in my growth and development. My parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, friends, and assorted others will make cameo appearances in this narrative. Additionally I will write about my understanding of some of the more salient events that occurred as I was growing up, especially those events that seem to have had a direct bearing on my choice to participate in the integration of Central High.

The experience in Little Rock taught me a lot about myself and about the white people who were aligned against me, especially in terms of their responses to me as a black person and what I must have represented to them because I was black. The year I spent in that unsettling situation afforded me opportunities to grow and to continue the development of significant parts of my personality, to understand much about the interface between me and those who were convinced that I had no place at Central High, and to learn how to cope with a level of fear that was almost overwhelming at times. I came out of that maelstrom more resolved than ever to continue the fight for justice and equality for all oppressed people in this country. In writing about the lessons I learned in Little Rock, I wish to inspire you to learn or re-learn those same lessons and, hopefully, to provide some reason for optimism as we move into the ensuing decades of this twenty-first century. In America, we have not lived up to the promise of providing opportunity for each and every one of us to realize our inherent potential, but we do have the capacity to make that happen. So far we have lacked the will and the necessary commitment, but with concerted effort on the part of all of us who believe in this possibility, it can, and will happen!

I’m glad you have decided to join me on this journey, and I trust that what I have to say will be worth the time you spend reading my words. Additionally I invite you to enter the dialogue that will eventually lead us to discover how to dismantle the walls of separation that continue to exist in this country. We have too much to lose by not confronting the salient issues that continue to confound and confuse us. We need to learn how to accept and embrace difference, rid ourselves of the disabling thought patterns that keep us at arms length from each other, and work toward establishing a just and truly democratic society. Talk to those who will listen and respond, model the behaviors for those who are reluctant to add their voice to the mix, and encourage all to think beyond the ordinary as we seek answers to questions that have remained unresolved for far too long. I want to be able to report to my grandsons that America wants them to participate fully in all aspects of life, that there are no hidden barriers that would interfere with their progress toward chosen goals or ambitions. I have my speech prepared, I am waiting in the wings for my cue that the time for my stage entrance has arrived. I am nervous, to be sure, for there is no certainty that I will ever be called, but if the most vital lessons from Little Rock have any meaning whatsoever, if those lessons can be made manifest, then perhaps it can be reasonably assumed that my grandsons will lead lives of unemcumbered productivity using their life energy to reach any and all of the goals they set for themselves.

Finally, I am delighted to have this chance to talk with you, the reader, and if the words I write serve any purpose, I trust it will be to motivate you to find ways to alter the status quo, to create a new and better America. Little Rock offered a glimpse of what we can be at our worst, but we do not have to settle for that aspect of our national character. There are other parts, some lying dormant, waiting for a chance to blossom into the nation many of us dream about as we recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America “...one nation, under God, with justice and liberty for all!”