At first it seemed there was little that the black students, their parents, or the NAACP could do to challenge Faubus. Fortunately President Eisenhower decided to take action. He sent soldiers from the 101st Airborne to escort the "Little Rock Nine" into Central High and put the Arkansas National Guard under federal control. So for the first time in almost a hundred years, the federal government used force to guarantee the rights of black southerners. Eisenhower’s actions meant that eight of the "Little Rock Nine" attended Central High for the entire 1957-1958 school year. It also meant that Ernest Green was the first black student, probably in the history of the southern United States, to graduate from an integrated high school.

Now all of the above could be shared and shown to students using an excellent Civil Rights documentary such as Eyes on the Prize. However, documentaries generally present information from the point of view of adults. What The Ernest Green Story does is recreate what it was like to be a black teenager integrating an all white school. This means the movie shares details like the fact that none of the "Little Rock Nine" were allowed to participate in extra-curricular activities or allowed to attend social events; that the black students’ parents often didn’t understand what their children were going through; and exactly how the black students were verbally harassed and even physically abused because they didn't have personal Army guards after the first few months of the school year.  (This last fact is left out of most of the historical accounts of the integration of Central High School.) These are all issues that would dominate the lives of a high school students, and sharing them makes Ernest Green's, and the rest of the "Little Rock Nine"’s, experiences much more real for students.

The Ernest Green Story allows students to make an emotional connection to events that took place almost fifty years ago. It allows them to understand why all of the black students wanted to quit school before the end of the first semester; why one of the students did transfer to a school in a northern state; and, most importantly, when they see how these black students were treated, they understand why the segregation of southern schools had to end. This is the beauty of a good historical movie, like The Ernest Green Story, and its why I so often use often use theatrical movies to teach history.

So if you haven't done so already check out The Ernest Green Story. I'd like to hear what you think of its presentation of the historical events at Central High School and whether the movie makes what happened there more real for you.  I'd also like to hear your thoughts on Disney's rather impressive effort to portray the events of the Civil Rights Movement. The Ernest Green Story is just one of the many Disney productions that deal with this important part of our history.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Have a Disney Day!