101st Regiment
A division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault. President Eisenhower mobilized the 101st to protect the Little Rock Nine.
Arkansas State Press
Founded by NAACP leaders Lucious Christopher Bates and Daisy Gatson Bates, the Arkansas State Press was a newspaper that reported civil rights news and advocacy often overlooked in other Arkansas publications.
Brown v. Board of Education
The 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared segregated public schools unconstitutional
The Civil Rights Movement
A nonviolent social and political movement in the United States that opposed segregation and racial discrimination and worked to ensure equal rights for all Americans under the law.
copious
Abundant or in plenty
crinoline
A stiff fabric, often worn to give volume to skirts
gabardine
A tightly woven wool or cotton fabric, often waterproof
impeccable
Flawless
Mahatma Gandhi
An Indian civil rights leader who popularized the idea of nonviolent resistance as a way to protest the British occupation of India. Grandma India refers Melba to Gandhi's works to inspire her as she endures torment at Central High.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
A 1955-1956 civil rights protest, incited after NAACP activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man, during which residents of Montgomery, Alabama, refused to use the transportation system until it desegregated. Though this protest was not the first civil rights demonstration in the United States, it gained national attention and is considered a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Formed in 1909 in response to the deadly anti-Black Springfield Riots, the NAACP is a civil rights organization that combats racial inequality and injustice. Through grassroots movements, legislative battles, and community activism, the NAACP still works to create economic, social, and legal justice.
National Guard
State-based military divisions that can be mobilized to defend the state and country.
nonchalant
Laid back or relaxed
picaninny (slur)
A slur used against black children
quipping
Joking, banter
"Screaming Eagles"
An elite force of Korean War veterans dispatched to protect the Little Rock Nine
subpoenaed
An official order for a witness to testify in court or provide evidence.
segregation
The policy instated by the Supreme Court decision Plessy Vs. Ferguson that spatially and socially divided Americans by race. Under segregation, Black Americans were denied access to "white" public services, like education and healthcare, and were forced to use often poor-quality versions of places like restrooms and drinking fountains. Violating these segregated boundaries led to humiliation, legal prosecution, and violence. Though segregation is now illegal, "defacto segregation," or social segregation caused by the remnants of segregation policies, still exists in the United States.
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American justice appointed to the Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment, Marshall led NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and worked as a civil rights attorney.
treacherous
Unfaithful or dangerous
