National Parks 2022: Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club/KAL!

Every month from May-August, we’ll be releasing 4 new parks colorways. We have almost exhausted all of the traditional US National Parks, so this year, we’ll be showcasing other National Parks areas, such as National Recreation Areas, Heritage sites, etc. Featured parks will fall under one of 4 categories:

National History – Eastern USA
National History – Western USA
Indigenous Culture
Human Rights Leaders/notable people

Check out our Socks and Hats on Vacay/Staycay summertime KAL with our friend Shannon Squire, too: https://shannonsquire.com/socks-hats-on-vacay-2022/

Thanks for exploring parks and making socks with us once again this summer! To get your yarn, check out our list of LYS’s offering National Parks (Parks yarn will ONLY be available at our LYS partners through the summer): https://knittedwit.com/parks-2022/

And, to play our new-to-2022 Vacay Bingo game, head in to your participating LYS and grab a gameboard or download it here: https://knittedwit.com/parks-2022/

Where is it located?

Little Rock, Arkanasas

Whose land does it reside upon?

The land Little Rock sits on is the ancestral home of the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw peoples. The word “Arkansas” is derived from the name Algonkian-speaking Indians of the Ohio River Valley gave to the Native Americans who inhabited this area.

When was it established?

November 6, 1998

About this park:

“Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts.”

In 1957, Little Rock Central High School was the epicenter of confrontation and a catalyst for change as the fundamental test for the United States to enforce African American civil rights following Brown v. Board of Education.

In the fall of 1957, Little Rock became the symbol of state resistance to school desegregation. Arkansas Governor Orval E. Faubus directly questioned the sanctity of the federal court system and the authority of the United States Supreme Court’s desegregation ruling while nine African American high school students sought an education at the all-white Little Rock Central High School.

The controversy in Little Rock was the first fundamental test of the United States resolve to enforce African-American civil rights in the face of massive southern defiance during the period following the Brown v. Board of Education decisions. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower was compelled by white mob violence to use federal troops to ensure the rights of African American children to attend the previously all-white school, he became the first president since the post-Civil War Reconstruction period to use federal troops in support of African American civil rights.