In September 1958, Gov. Orval Faubus closed all Little Rock, Arkansas public high schools for one year rather than allow integration to continue, leaving 3,665 black and white students without access to public education.
Source: Library of Congress.
Little Rock Voters Close Public Schools
Jul 11, 2022
I vividly remember watching the 9 students being led into school with the 101th keeping the locals in check back in ’57. I couldn’t imagine how traumatic that was for them and what I would have done if some group tried to prevent me from going to Staples.
Somewhere there is a video of those students reflecting back on their Little Rock High experiences; none of them expressed any bitterness.
https://library.wustl.edu/news/highlighting-the-little-rock-nine-interviews/