I was just reading about Jefferson Thomasand the other members of the Little Rock 9 yesterday.
Seriously brave kids to walk into that situation. They were spat upon, escorted into school by the National Guard, and had to see to their studies while many of their classmates treated them with revulsion and aggression (which the Guard could not protect them from inside the school).
It amazes me that not so long ago:
Children were vilified for trying to attend school
Politicians made popular stands on the issue
A Republican president found it necessary to take control of the National Guard to carry out federal orders
Jefferson Thomas, and others of his day deserve our respect and thanks for being trailblazers. As children, they showed adults how to behave.
More than that: to take over the National Guard, have it stand aside, and bring in the Regular Army’s 101st Airborne to allow a US Supreme Court decision to be observed.
That’s some environment in which to take a stand.
And on a smaller scale, there were also repercussions for the school board members who voted to admit these students. Mostly on the order of being kicked out of bridge clubs and golf foursomes, but a mob of women cornered one guy and beat him with umbrellas and handbags. “And those bints probably called themselves ladies,” I thought when I read that. It’s incredible that people can have such hate in their hearts and think it’s right.