Cultural Event #1: Lessons from Little Rock

Last night, I attended my first Cultural Event of the semester.  "Lessons from Little Rock" was a lecture featuring Terrance Roberts. Roberts was one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African American students who were the first, in 1957; to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.  He and the other eight of the Little Rock Nine were awarded with The Congressional Gold Medal by President Bill Clinton in 1999. 

The presentation delivered by Roberts told a chilling story of the nine teenagers who fought back against forces of discrimination in 1957. Roberts talked about the intriguing events of that frightful time inside Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On Sept. 25th, 1957, the nine black students, including Roberts, risked their lives by integrating into Central High School in Little Rock, which officially desegregated its public school system. Their bravery that day would live on forever. They were admitted based on exceptional grades and attendance after the U.S. Supreme Court declared a ruling that would make all segregated schools unconstitutional. On the first day, the nine were met by a hostile group of segregationists that physically blocked the students from entering the school. 

Dr. Roberts was a sophomore at Horace Mann High School when he volunteered to integrate Central High. He then moved to Los Angeles, during “The Lost Year," and graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1959. Roberts then attended California State University, Los Angeles and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1967. In 1970 he then obtained master’s degree. 

Later, Roberts earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He served as a  professor at Antioch College in Los Angeles and as co-chair of the department of Master of Arts in Psychology Program. During Dr. Roberts' lecture, he discussed his experiences of Little Rock Central High and his his journey to figuring out how to overcome segregation. He explained to the audience that blacks basically had to survive by forming "the village." 

Me and Dr. Terrence Roberts after the lecture.

The experience gave him a solid grounding as he was told to get an education. When Roberts was young and before was able to attend school, he would constantly read books in the library so that he could learn independently. He mentioned that by fourth grade, he was a prepared executive learner. He also discussed our importance not only as students, but as people of the United States. Roberts warmly told the audience that what we do matters. Some people don't realize that for 335 years, it was constitutional to discriminate by law. The Supreme Court ruled in the Brown decision of Brown vs. The Board of Education. This favored that it was no longer constitutional to discriminate against blacks.

The event flyer.

Although the law changed, people would still discriminate. Dr. Roberts discussed that during this time, he was often kicked, thrown down stairs, and beaten badly. During that time, blacks weren't even allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. Roberts mentioned the importance of reaching out and making connections because it may take you further than you think. It didn't seem to be as uncomfortable for him to talk about these times as most expected. He mentioned that after his experience, he came to a point of understanding the historical context of these times. Sadly, 335 years of lawful discrimination was something that people got used to. He explained that accepting it to be unlawful was difficult for non-blacks to adapt to. He then brought up his theory that race is nothing but an artificial construct. Hence, there is no such thing as race after all. 

“In Little Rock, every possible decision had a racial component: where you could live, where you could to go to school, whether you could work or not, whether you could get a bank loan… who you could marry. This made no sense to me, especially as I discovered there is no such thing as race.”- Dr. Terrence Roberts

As he spoke to the audience, we were encouraged to ask multiple questions. Many asked advice on how to "be the change" and make their cultural environment a more open minded atmosphere. He discussed how one may attempt potentially getting rid of the idea which we refer to as "race." Hence, if everyone thought that there was no such thing; maybe there wouldn't be such thing as racism. I had the privilege of shaking this honorable man's hand last night. I am so grateful to have been part of his inspiring lecture and hope that Shepherd University welcomes him back in the future. I learned a great amount from this event and would love to attend more just like it. It was great to go to an event so close to Black History and Martin Luther King Jr. day.