Elizabeth Eckford

Elizabeth Eckford was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a well-known group of nine African American students who were supposed to attend a previously all-white high school in Little Rock Arkansas. They were the first African American students to start the desegregating of the Arkansas school systems and are known all around America for their immense bravery and hardships they endured. I had the great pleasure of getting to meet Elizabeth back around 2015 and I got to speak to her about her experience and what she went through attending the school. While speaking with her I realized that Elizabeth is so much more than just a member of the Little Rock Nine, she is a smart, kind, and courageous woman with a whole life story that deserves to be acknowledged.

Liz was born on October 4, 1941, to Oscar & Birdie Eckford in little Rock Arkansas. She grew up as a smart and kind girl, she was always considered to be on the shyer side but was loved by many nonetheless. By just fifteen Liz was chosen to be one of the Little Rock Nine. The plan was for all the students to enter the school area together, although Liz’s family did not own a telephone so she was not informed of the meeting spot. This caused Liz to have to enter the school alone where she was surrounded by a mob of four hundred white protesters, she was yelled at and spat on while being all alone in this mob. She was then escorted to a bus stop by a white woman who shielded her from the mob. That day was considered to be unsuccessful as the children were not able to enter the school due to the mass mobs and the lack of police action. It was not until two weeks later that she was able to attend and enter the school. She attended and graduated from Little Rock Central Highschool, although the abuse she went through there caused her to have post-traumatic stress disorder until this day that still affects her everyday life. White female students used to flush all the toilets while she was showering in the gym, which would cause the water to become very hot and burn her. She was assaulted, harassed, and threatened for the majority of her high school career, yet she still persisted.

Although her high school experience was traumatic Liz did not let it stop her, she went on to be accepted by Knox College in Illinois, she later attended Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where she earned a BA in history. In 2018, she was then awarded an honorary doctorate from Knox College. Liz even went on to serve in the U.S military for five years and then returned home to write for Fort McClellan and Fort Benjamin Harrison newspaper. She went on to have many various professions including, a history teacher, welfare worker, unemployment and employment interviewer, and a military reporter.

Elizabeth persevered through life even when she had to experience hardships no fifteen year old should ever have to endure. She graduated, attended college, worked hard, and started a family. Liz is truly one of my biggest inspirations in life and one of the kindest souls I have ever had the opportunity to meet and get to know.