September 12, 1958

"On Sept. 12, 1958, Governor Orval Faubus closed all Little Rock, Ark. public high schools for one year rather than allow integration to continue. Learn more by watching the film "The Lost Year" and from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas." (source: Zinn Education Project)

Photo: An empty hallway at Central High School in Little Rock during the Lost Year (1958–59). Photo by Thomas J. O'Halloran, Library of Congress.

"In the summer of 1958, as the school year was drawing to a close, Faubus decided to petition the decision by the Federal District Court in order to postpone the desegregation of public high schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the Cooper v. Aaron case, the Little Rock School District, under the leadership of Faubus, was fighting for a two and a half year delay on de-segregation, meaning that black students would only be permitted into public high schools in January 1961. Faubus argued that if the schools remained integrated there would be an increase in violence. However, in August 1958, the Federal Courts ruled against the delay for de-segregation, which consequently incited Faubus to call together an Extraordinary Session of the State Legislature on August 26 in order to enact his segregation bills.

Claiming that Little Rock had to assert their rights and freedom against the federal decision, in September 1958, Faubus signed acts that enabled him and the Little Rock School District to close all public schools. Thus, with this bill signed, on Monday September 15, Faubus ordered the closure of all four public high schools, preventing both black and white students from attending school. Despite Faubus’s decree, the town’s population had the chance of refuting the bill since the school-closing law necessitated a referendum. The referendum, which would either condone or condemn Faubus’s law, was to take place within thirty days. A week before the referendum, which was scheduled to take place on September 27, Faubus addressed the citizens of Little Rock in an attempt to acquire their votes. Faubus urged the population to vote against integration since he was planning on leasing the public school buildings to private schools, and, in doing so, would educate the white and black students separately. Faubus was successful in his appeal and won the referendum. This year would come to be known as the ‘Lost Year’.

Faubus's victory would lead to a series of consequences that affected the entire population of Little Rock. Faubus’s intention to open private schools was denied the same day the referendum took place, which caused the citizens of Little Rock to turn on the black community. The black community became a target for hate crimes since people blamed them for the closing of the schools. Daisy Bates, head of the NAACP chapter in Little Rock, was a primary victim to these crimes, in addition to the black students enrolled at Little Rock Central High School and their families.

The town's teachers were also placed in a difficult position. They were forced to swear loyalty to Faubus’s bills. Although Faubus’s idea of private schools never played out, the teachers were still expected to attend school every day and prepare for the possibility of their students’ return. The teachers were completely under Faubus’s control and the many months that the school stayed empty only served as a cause for uncertainty in their professional futures.

In May 1959, after the firing of forty-four teachers and administrative staff from the four high schools, three segregationist board members were replaced with three moderate ones. The new board members reinstated the forty-four staff members to their positions. The new board of directors then began an attempt to reopen the schools, much to Faubus’s dismay. In order to avoid any further complications, the public high schools were scheduled to open earlier than usual, on August 12, 1959.

Although the Lost Year had come to a close, the black students who would be returning to the high schools were not welcomed by the other students. Rather, the black students had a difficult time getting past mobs to enter the school, and, once inside, they were often subject to physical and emotional abuse. The students were back at school and everything would eventually resume normal function, but the Lost Year would be a pretext for new hatred towards the black students in the public high school." (source: Little Rock Nine, Wikipedia)

New York Times Article from September 13, 1958: Court Bars Little Rock Delay; President Calls For Supprt; Faubus Orders 4 Schools Shut