Judge releases Little Rock schools from federal supervision

[struggle4progress]

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Friday, February 23, 2007 3:37 PM CST

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A judge in one of the nation's longest-running school desegregation cases released the Little Rock district from federal supervision Friday, nearly 50 years after President Eisenhower sent in troops to escort nine black students into all-white Central High ...

Little Rock was the scene of a 1957 showdown between Faubus and Eisenhower on whether black students should be allowed to attend then-all-white Central High School. Faubus called out National Guard troops to prevent nine black students from entering the school, but Eisenhower federalized them and summoned troops from the 101st Airborne to escort the children onto the campus.

In ceremonies marking the 40-year anniversary, President Clinton and then-Gov. Mike Huckabee held the doors open for the Little Rock Nine as they walked through the high school's grand entrance. A statue of the nine stands on the state Capitol grounds, just outside the governor's office. The U.S. Mint is producing a coin commemorating the events ...

http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2007/02/23/ap-state-ar/d8nfluj80.txt