Desegregation of Central High School by “Little Rock Nine,” Arkansas

Artist Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922-2007)

CultureAmerican

Date1957, printed 1996

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 15 × 18 7/8 in. (38.1 × 47.9 cm)
Overall: 16 × 19 7/8 in. (40.6 × 50.5 cm)
Overall, Mat: 22 × 26 1/8 in. (55.9 × 66.4 cm)

Inscribedsigned and titled in pencil with edition number on print verso

Credit LinePurchase in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, and the Art Purchase Fund

Object number97.21.5

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThe "Little Rock Nine's" first day of school. A group of girls getting out of a car to go into school.

Label TextErnest C. Withers American, 1922−2007 Desegregation of Central High School by “Little Rock Nine,” Arkansas, 1957 Gelatin silver print (photograph), printed 1996 Angry white demonstrators turned out to block the court-ordered integration of Little Rock’s largest high school in the fall of 1957. In response, President Dwight Eisenhower sent soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division to protect the black students, known as the “Little Rock Nine.” Here one of the federal troops holds open a car door for Elizabeth Eckford, while Carlotta Walls, Melba Patillo, and Minnie Jean Brown prepare to approach the threatening crowd outside the school’s front doors. Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 97.21.5 Exhibition History"Appeal th this Age: Photography of the Civil Rights Movement", THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART, NORFOLK, VA, December 21, 1996 - March 2, 1997. "Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, from the Museum Collection", THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART, NORFOLK, VA, February 6 - May 31, 1998. "Civil Rights Photography," Newseum, Arlington, Virginia, January 8 - April 30, 2001. "History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, Fall, 2001. "Photographic Histories," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, May 10 - August 17, 2014. "Women and the Civil Rights Movement," Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 14 - October 30, 2016.