"I believe that man will not merely endure: He will prevail"

He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.

--William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Today is September 25, 2007. Fifty years ago today, nine black students integrated my alma mater, Little Rock Central High. It was not an easy task. They faced racist mobs and ignorant bigots. The governor tried to keep them out with the National Guard, so the President sent the Army in to secure their entrance. Today, the current governor and a former President honored them and their historic deed. I listened to all of the speeches on the radio--it was quite moving. This celebration has been a long time coming. In honor of this historic event, the Clinton Presidential Library hosted the original document of the Emancipation Proclamation. I went down to the library and viewed it on Sunday evening. Apparently, they only display the document once a year for 48 hours. That was one of the Fun Facts listed on the handout about the Emancipation Proclamation. You'd think a document that essentially set a people free from slavery would be more dignified than to have "Fun Facts" listed about it.
But there were a few enlightening things about the actual document, printed in full on the reverse of the aforementioned handout. Most people are aware that when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation it was only effective for those slave states that had seceded from the Union (ie. they weren't under his control, and the border slave states that were friendly to the Union were exempted from the Emancipation--politics was full of special interests and hypocrisy even under Lincoln). But reading on even further, Arkansas, my state, is the first to be declared free. Then Texas. Then Louisiana (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson. . . ) What? That's right, the ugly truth. Even the city of New Orleans was exempted. Certain counties in Virginia were exempted. I was shocked. Things have always been screwed up when it comes to politics and doing what is right.
I guess that is why it takes so long for change to occur. The exhibit went on to outline the Civil Rights struggle over the years. It is a fortunate thing, in a way, that the white people were so ugly and horrible in Little Rock in 1957. By showing their grotesqueries to the world, they made others so ashamed that, slowly, a change could occur. On a personal note, many of those iconic images of hatred, including the one above, were photographed by my father's friend and college roommate, Will Counts. Also, I'd like to point out the fact that I've now done TWO posts about important milestones from 1957. The other being the publishing of On the Road, in case you missed it.
I then noticed, thanks to a blurb in the New York Times, that William Faulkner was born on this day 110 years ago. See how history makes it easy for you to connect the dots? The subject of racism and the evil that man is capable of were familiar territory for the South's most famous novelist. Seven years before the Central High crisis, Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He used the occasion to deliver a particularly powerful message you can read here. He had also made a statement a year before the Central High crisis in Harper's Magazine, June of 1956, stating that:

"We cannot choose freedom
established on a hierarchy of degrees of freedom,
on a caste system of equality like military rank.
We must be free not because we claim freedom,
but because we practice it."

Several years ago I had the privilege to film a documentary with William Faulkner's nephew, Jimmy Faulkner. I remember Jimmy saying that when he congratulated his uncle on the Nobel Prize win, Faulkner simply shrugged it off saying, "Fine. Let's go hunting." Upon further research I found that Faulkner used the money he won from the Nobel Prize to fund a prize for aspiring writers (resulting in the Pen/Faulkner award) and also established a scholarship for African-American education majors at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. So, file that with your Fun Facts about William Faulkner. A great novelist and a remarkable Southerner.
In 1991 I graduated from Little Rock Central High. I was able to dig this up for your amusement:
One thing I hope you will notice from this yearbook page is the diversity of color, not to mention hairstyles. Going through my yearbook I saw a lot of faces that I miss, a lot that I don't miss, and not a few I wish I'd never met--not that many of them ever knew I existed. But this is neither the time or place for my own High School disappointments.

"George Bush doesn't care about black people"--Kanye West after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans

"I find it hard to believe that George Bush cares about anyone."--Kanye West on Nightline after being asked if he regrets the previous statement.

At this 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine, much has been made of the continuing progress that needs to be made, and I agree, their is still far too much prejudice in the world, not just between white and black, but between that which we know and understand and that which we don't. However, I feel I must defend one point that has come under constant scrutiny by the media and that is the Advanced Placement classes at Central High. They are crying that this is just another form of racism. I disagree. I took the Advanced Placement classes. I had incredible teachers. And there were black students in those classes with me. Those classes allowed me to test out of an entire year of college courses. The AP classes are not at fault here, nor are the students in them. At fault is our education system overall that is failing to educate students up to that point. At fault is a society that devalues intelligence and hard work. At fault is apathy and easy answers to complex problems. Despite the fact that I never learned the words to Central's alma mater--I simply hummed "Smile Darn You Smile"--I am proud that I graduated from a school with such an important place in history. Today, I applaud that place, and those nine courageous souls.