We Remember the Nine

To cover every aspect of the Integration of the Little Rock Nine, I would design a website to cover topics such as the history of the event, a look at the nine then and now, the anniversary of the crisis, and the impact it has left.

To allow the reader to move easily through the information, I would have a heading, a side-bar menu, and a main page like the following:

The heading would be titled "We Remember the Nine" and would display a photo of Central High similar to this one.

The menu would list links to each sections of the website: Home, 50 Years Ago, Then and Now, Celebration, Impact, Discuss the Nine and Guestbook. Each of these section would open up into the main page.


"Home"
The first page displayed in the main-page section would open up as a "Welcome to this website" introduction. It would then go on to give a brief summary of the Central High Crisis and explain why we still celebrate the integration today.

Links would include:
LRCentralHigh.org


"50 Years Ago"
In this section, I would discuss the conflict in 1957. An example would be:

"September 25, 1957, became a historic day in the Nation when nine courageous children risked their lives to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Confronted by a hostile crowd and escorted by the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne, they shouldered the burden of integrating a then segregated public school system.

Although the Supreme Court’s Landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education struck down racial segregation in public schools, it was the courageous actions of these nine young champions of school integration that tested the strength of that decision.

Their actions not only mobilized a Nation to insure that access to a quality education was granted to all Americans, but they helped to define the civil rights movement. They became known as the Little Rock Nine." www.littlerock9.com

I would then embed this video to further explain the debate over the LR Nine.


Links would include:
History.com
CentralHigh57.org
Thinkquest.org
ArkansasGlobecoming.com

"Then and Now"
In this section of the site, I would give biographies on each member of the Little Rock Nine and show photographs of what they looked like then and what they look like now. For Example:

"Ernest G. Green is currently the Managing Director of Public Finance for Lehman Brothers' Washington, D.C. office. He joined the firm in 1987. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Green was president of Ernest Green & Associates, a minority consulting firm that provided technical assistance in marketing, financial management and economic forecasting.

Mr. Green served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training during the Carter Administration, Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley, appointed Mr. Green to serve as Chairman of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Advisory Board and President Clinton appointed Mr. Green to serve as Chairman of the African Development Foundation.

Mr. Green was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He earned his high school diploma from Central High School in Little Rock. He received a B.S. in Social Science and a Masters in Sociology from Michigan State University.

Mr. Green along with eight other African American students was the first to integrate Central High following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education that declared segregation illegal. They later would become known as the "Little Rock Nine". Hundreds of organizations have honored Mr. Green during his career. He is the recipient of numerous awards.

Several books, movies and documentaries have chronicled Mr. Green and his eight classmates’ historic year at Central High School. On November 9, 1999, President Clinton presented them with the highest honor this nation gives to a civilian, the “Congressional Gold Medal”, for their outstanding bravery during the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

He, also, serves on several boards one of which is the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) where he was Chairman for two consecutive years. Mr. Green and his wife Phyllis live in Washington, D. C. He is the proud father of Adam, Jessica and McKenzie Ann." www.littlerock9.com

Links would include:
LittleRock9.com
CentralHigh57.org
Ardemgaz.com
NASPhq.org

"Celebration"
In this section, I would discuss the series of events celebrating the 50Th anniversary, listing the date, time, place, and purpose of each event. I would then go into detail on the events that I attended. For example, for the LR Nine Gala, I would post pictures from the event as well as upload audio files to podcast.com on speeches given by Clinton, Members of the Nine, etc..

Little Rock Nine Gala on September 24Th

Photos by Bryan Thornhill

Links would include:
LittleRock.org
LRSD.org
NPR.org
CNN.com


"Impact"
In this section, I would discuss the impact the Little Rock Nine has had on Central High, Arkansas, and the rest of the world. One example would be the Little Rock Nine Memorial Civil Rights Memorial. I would give facts about the memorial site, such as the construction and location, and display pictures such as the following:


I would also discuss Educational programs now offered by the Little Rock Nine Foundation. For example:

"Mentoring Program
The program will make a difference far beyond the students that will receive the scholarships. The Foundation will help them achieve their goal of receiving a quality education, while at the same time, preparing them to become productive future citizens and leaders.

The students will be required to mentor younger students, hence, becoming role models themselves. The program will give hope and opportunity to a community where some of its citizens may not see the path to success through education.

The Mentorship Program will begin at the time the students enter college, and will end after their 2ND year. The first Leadership Training Conference will be held in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the summer of 2008." www.littlerock9.com

Links would include:
Little Rock Nine Foundation
Little Rock Nine Memorial Civil Rights Memorial


"Discuss the Nine"
In the section, I would embed a chat applet to my website from www.freejavachat.com to allow viewers to discuss the topics and events.


"Guestbook"
In this section, I would create a guestbook from www.a-free-guestbook.com and put it on my website, to allow users to give me feedback about my site and voice their opinions over the topics.