Which figure was central to the Little Rock Central High desegregation crisis?

Which figure was central to the Little Rock Central High desegregation crisis?

• A. Orval Faubus
• B. George Wallace
• C. Lester Maddox
• D. Martin Luther King Jr.

Answer: (A)

The central idea is how state leaders resisted desegregation and how the federal government stepped in to enforce it. Orval Faubus, as the governor of Arkansas in 1957, called out the Arkansas National Guard to block nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. This move directly challenged the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and federal court orders to desegregate. The crisis highlighted the tension between state sovereignty and federal authority over civil rights. President Eisenhower eventually federalized the National Guard and sent in federal troops to enforce the students’ admission, reinforcing that federal law takes precedence in matters of constitutional rights. The other figures are linked to segregation and civil rights in other contexts, but they were not the central players in this specific event.

The central idea is how state leaders resisted desegregation and how the federal government stepped in to enforce it. Orval Faubus, as the governor of Arkansas in 1957, called out the Arkansas National Guard to block nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. This move directly challenged the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and federal court orders to desegregate. The crisis highlighted the tension between state sovereignty and federal authority over civil rights. President Eisenhower eventually federalized the National Guard and sent in federal troops to enforce the students’ admission, reinforcing that federal law takes precedence in matters of constitutional rights. The other figures are linked to segregation and civil rights in other contexts, but they were not the central players in this specific event.