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HerStory July 2022: Sonali Dev

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We are honoring our second (but not last) romance author of the year for our July HerStory recipient: Sonali Dev. First things first, if you have a spare 30 minutes, listen to her keynote address at the 2018 Romance Writers of America Librarian’s Day to see exactly why we chose her (https://soundcloud.com/user-620052388/rwa-2018-librarians-day-keynote-from-sonali-dev?utm_source=sonalidev.com&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fuser-620052388%252Frwa-2018-librarians-day-keynote-from-sonali-dev). It’s a beautiful speech, inspiring and kind of devastating; we were destroyed by it in the best possible way. She spoke eloquently about the importance of reading and telling stories about folks that are not cis white men, and how important representation is for all groups of people. How important not only telling diverse stories is, but how important READING and OFFERING diverse stories is. That’s the underlying theme here at Knitted Wit HerStory Central: making sure our monthly HerStory recipients are representative of those who historically have not garnered the same praise, attention, and space that their white counterparts have enjoyed as a matter of course.

Not only is Sonali Dev a staunch advocate for diversifying our libraries and bookshelves, but her books are compelling and beautiful and sweet and emotional. The family dramas at the heart of them are complicated and messy and wonderful. The love stories are, well, complicated and messy and wonderful. Growing up in Mumbai, she loved Bollywood from a young age, and even tried her hand at writing Bollywood screenplays. She began her foray into writing romance when she realized that good romance was like good Bollywood: the idea that love can inspire the deepest and best kind of joy and inspire people to, as Dev said, “throw out their arms and sing.”

Dev has two book series currently, both centered around Indian families and both dealing with heavy themes and issues of place and personhood and identity and the intertwining of cultures and how that affects a person’s life trajectory. Her Jane Austin-inspired series follows an Indian-American family that is as rich and complex as any family in literature. The politics of family (and, coincidentally, politics) plague, inspire, and challenge the protagonists, and through the series, the reader gets to know and love each one. Our July colorway is inspired by the title of the 3rd book in the series, Incense and Sensibility. We hope you spend part of your summer getting to know Sonali Dev and her remarkable books.

Books by Sonali Dev:

  • Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
  • Recipe for Persuasion
  • Incense and Sensibility
  • A Bollywood Affair (and the other 3 Bollywood series books) 

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

  • Farah Heron
  • Sajni Patel
  • Farrah Rochon
  • Sandhya Menon
  • Alisha Rai

National Parks 2022: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

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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?

Extreme Northwestern Alaska.

Whose land does it reside upon?

From the NPS website: 

“Many of the stories told about Bering Land Bridge National Preserve are focused on its prehistory, but the more recent past and present-day cultural traditions of Northwest Alaska are just as important. Deeply-rooted cultural practices and traditional subsistence hunting and gathering are still a part of everyday life for most Inupiaq communities around the Seward Peninsula. The protection of resources within Bering Land Bridge helps to support these lifestyles, as well as communicate to others the importance of Alaska Native heritage in a holistic context.

Today’s cultural groups of the Seward Peninsula remain closely tied to the ancestors who first crossed over from Siberia, and many still have living relatives on the Asian side of the Bering Strait. Up until European contact in the 19th century, these groups led mobile subsistence lifestyles, moving seasonally with food availability and thriving off the land and the sea.”

When was it established?

December 1, 1978

About this park:

The Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is one of the most remote United States national park areas, located on the Seward Peninsula. The National Preserve protects a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge that connected Asia with North America more than 13,000 years ago during the Pleistocene ice age, that many geologists, paleontologists, and other scientists believe was the path to the population of the americas. 

Why did we choose these colors?

We used this arresting photo from the NPS website to inspire our colorway: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=910081&id=8A0DBA99-1DD8-B71C-077BDACFF9987549&gid=89EE087B-1DD8-B71C-07C774C245A47537

For more information:

National Parks 2022: Russell Cave National Monument

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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?

Northeastern Alabama, close to the town of Bridgeport.

Whose land does it reside upon?

As Russell Cave was used for more than 10,000 years by different Indigenous groups in what was now America, there are many peoples whose ancestral lands is here. From the Paleo-Indians of 10,000+ years ago, to the Archaic culture (the first known tool sharpeners) to the Woodland people, who began to farm and develop a more agrarian culture, to the Mississippian culture that were decimated by colonial “exploration,” Russell Cave was an important part of many Indigenous cultures. Today, Cherokee, Muskogee Creek, and Koasati Indians call Northeastern Alabama home. 

When was it established?

May 11, 1961

About this park:

Russell Cave is an archeological site with one of the most complete records of prehistoric cultures in the Southeast. In the 1950s, archeologists uncovered a large quantity of artifacts representing over 10,000 years of use in a single place, from approximately 6500 BCE, the period of earliest-known human settlement in the southeastern United States, to 1650 CE and the period of European colonization. The large entrance made it an attractive shelter for large bands of people, and it is believed to have primarily served as a seasonal winter shelter. The people relied on the surrounding forest to gather produce and hunt for game and fish, stone and game for tools, and wood fuel for fires.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the images of the lovely pokeweed featured on this Instagram post as our colorway inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTpG-1kL90L/?utm_medium=copy_link

For more information:

National Parks 2022: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

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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?

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore comprises a stretch of shoreline and 21 islands at the northern tip of Wisconsin, on Lake Superior.

Whose land does it reside upon?

This area named the Apostle Islands is home for some of the Ojibwe people who live throughout the Great Lakes. According to their written and oral history, the Ojibwe were the original inhabitants of this area. In order to gain the materials they needed to survive, they traveled throughout the islands with their main village being Madeline Island, which is known as Moningwunakauning: “Home of the yellow breasted woodpecker.”

When was it established?

September 26, 1970

About this park:

Twenty-two Apostle Islands lie off the Bayfield Peninsula in Lake Superior, the largest and most pristine of the Great Lakes.The National Lakeshore includes twenty-one of these islands and a 12-mile segment along Wisconsin’s north coast. Colorful Precambrian sandstone eroded into cliff formations, sea caves, and a collection of sandscapes, including sandspits, cuspate forelands, tombolos, a barrier spit, and numerous beaches.

The lakeshore is at the continental northwestern limits of hemlock-white-pine-northern hardwood forest as well as elements of boreal forest. This diversity provides habitat for nesting and migratory birds, and a variety of mammals, amphibians, and fish.

On the mainland, the Lakeshore Trail winds past cliffs and sea caves. Many islands have trails, beaches and marinas. Wildlife includes bald eagles, falcons and black bears. Sand Island and Raspberry Island have 19th-century lighthouses. The Lucerne shipwreck is just off Long Island

Why did we choose these colors?

We used this stunning photo of “The Garage,” which is the largest sea cave found in the park’s mainland unit, for our colorway inspiration:

https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=3147994&id=57D0AD3F-155D-4519-3EB058DD3F2FDABD&gid=57CA185B-155D-4519-3EED76872113D50F

For more information:

National Parks 2022: Nicodemus National Historic Site

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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?

Northern Kansas.

Whose land does it reside upon?

What is now Kansas is home to many indigenous tribes, including: Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kansa, Kiowa, Osage, Pawnee, and Wichita.

When was it established?

November 12, 1996

About this park:

Formerly enslaved African Americans left Kentucky at the end of the of post-Civil War Reconstruction period to experience freedom in the “Promised Land” of Kansas. Nicodemus represents the involvement of African Americans in the westward expansion and settlement of the Great Plains. It is the oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River. 

The five historic buildings represent the spirit of Nicodemus: church, self government, education, home, and business. They illustrate the individual and collective strength of character and desire for freedom of these early pioneers, who established Nicodemus – one of the oldest and most famous Black towns on the western plains.

On the NPS website, there is a welcome video, and one of the park rangers in the video is a descendant of the original settlers of Nicodemus!

Why did we choose these colors?

We used this beautiful and hopeful photograph of a rainbow east of the Township Hall after a rainstorm during the Emancipation Celebration:

https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=3380931&id=20C8E696-AC52-F898-A1569B7B3AC7172D&gid=C6E6DDB4-BB24-F3E7-51EB33EA0E490E0F

For more information:

HerStory June 2022: Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay is a self-proclaimed Bad Feminist. She’s a writer, a teacher, a publisher, a mentor, and a podcaster (among other things), focusing on women and women’s experiences in the world. Her works often delve into trauma and its effects on those women. She’s written non-fiction essays, memoirs, short fiction, novels, and graphic novels, as well as opinion pieces and articles for many publications. She is, in a word, busy.

One of the unifying themes in Gay’s work is the understanding and acceptance that we as humans are flawed; in fact, it’s the thesis of her most well-known work, Bad Feminist. She jokes that she’s a Bad Feminist, because her approach to and experience of feminism is human, and therefore, imperfect. She enjoys songs that contain misogynistic lyrics, she loves the color pink, she wants someone else to handle the yard work. The essays in the book range from musings on friendship, to in-depth book critiques, to reflecting on her long-standing love of the Sweet Valley High books, to hard-hitting essays on rape culture and the harm perpetrated by the patriarchy. 

Gay writes a great deal about trauma; her memoir Hunger speaks to her complicated relationship to her body and to the way her response to trauma resulted in the body she inhabits today. She speaks to collective trauma (and now much of her short-form writing has to do with collective trauma of living through this pandemic, and responses to attacks on our civil rights and right to choice). 

Mentoring is a big part of Gay’s life-philosophy. Her Emerging Writers program has morphed into a new writing fellowship, named after her late brother, focusing on writers who have not had luck in traditional publishing, with special consideration given to writers from underrepresented backgrounds. She lives the adage, “a rising tide will lift all boats”.

Our Bad Feminist colorway incorporates all of the seeming disparate parts of what makes Roxane Gay whole: a hearty dollup of her actual favorite color, pink, mixed with the color she often told folks was her favorite, the more serious black. The result is as complicated and lovely as our June author.

Books by Roxane Gay:

  • Hunger
  • Bad Feminist
  • Ayiti
  • Black Panther: World of Wakanda
  • An Untamed State
  • Difficult Women

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

  • Rebecca Solnit
  • Mikki Kendall
  • Ashley Ford
  • Cheryl Strayed
  • Tressie McMillan Cottom
  • Jesmyn Ward

National Parks 2022: Effigy Mounds National Monument

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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?

In Harper’s Ferry, Iowa, which is in northeastern Iowa.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The mounds were made by the Effigy Moundbuilders in the Woodland period. 

There are 20 Indigneous tribes that call the monument and it’s surrounding areas either their current or their ancestral home. These tribes are: 

  • Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
  • Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
  • Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians
  • Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin
  • Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
  • Upper Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota
  • Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community In the State of Minnesota
  • Lower Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota
  • Prairie island Indian Community In the State of Minnesota
  • Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa
  • Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska
  • Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
  • Crow Creek Sioux of South Dakota
  • Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
  • Santee Sioux Nation
  • Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  • Yankton Sioux of South Dakota
  • Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
  • Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
  • Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

When was it established?

October 25, 1949

About this park:

Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 prehistoric mounds built by pre-ColumbianMound Builder cultures, mostly in the first millennium AD, during the later part of the Woodland period of pre-Columbian North America. Numerous effigy mounds are shaped like animals, including bears and birds.

Colorway Inspiration:

The photo on this page was the inspiration for our colorway; we just loved the contrast of the deep dark tree trunks and the vibrant bright grass on the mounds: https://www.nps.gov/efmo/learn/historyculture/effigy-moundbuilders.htm

For more information:

National Parks 2022: Grand Portage National Monument

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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?

On the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.

Whose land does it reside upon?

Grand Portage National Monument is within the homeland of the Grand Portage Anishinaabe. Approximately half of the land for the national monument was donated by the Grand Portage Band. This community is the homeplace and center of tribal government for the Grand Portage Band (the Band) of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). Their intimate knowledge of and connection to the land, water, plants, and wildlife of the area allowed them to endure in the sometimes harsh environment before and after European exploration and nation-building. As other cultures explored this area, the tools and technologies of the Ojibwe were adapted by newcomers to exploit the natural resources as global commodities. The Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) have persevered here for centuries, through the European incursion into this continent and division into two countries, the United States and (then British) Canada.

When was it established?

January 27, 1960

About this park:

Gichi Onigaming is the Ojibwe term for the “Great Carrying Place,” which is what these Indigenous peoples called present-day Grand Portage. It’s an 8.5-mile portage trail that allowed travelers to bypass high falls, cascades, and gorges, and has been a critical transportation route for thousands of years. Because of the area’s geology, topography, natural resources, and strategic location, the trail was part of an ancient transcontinental trade route connecting the Great Lakes to the interior of the continent.

Colorway Inspiration:

We used this photo of the historic depot overlooking Lake Superior as our inspiration photo: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=3098183&id=9224B04F-1DD8-B71B-0B6D9AC425D7B332&gid=8D27CD46-1DD8-B71B-0BC9536189E2A809

For more information:

National Parks 2022: Dinosaur National Monument

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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?

The southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green and Yampa rivers.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The Fremont people lived and roamed through this land starting about a thousand years ago, and left both petroglyphs and pictographic evidence. Their descendants live in this area today. They moved through the area, following flora and fauna through the seasons. 

When was it established?

October 4, 1915

About this park:

Dinosaurs once roamed here. Their fantastic remains are still visibly embedded in the rocks. Today, the mountains, desert, and untamed rivers flowing in deep canyons support an array of life. Petroglyphs hint at earlier cultures.

Fremont designs include both petroglyphs (patterns chipped or carved into the rock) and pictographs (patterns painted on the rock). Pictographs are relatively rare here, perhaps because they are more easily weathered. Some petroglyphs show traces of pigment, possibly indicating that many designs originally included both carved and painted areas. Many sandstone cliffs darkened with desert varnish, a naturally formed stain of iron and manganese oxides, provided an ideal canvas for carving petroglyphs.

Colorway Inspiration:

For our inspiration, we used this image of the pictographs found in the Deluge Shelter: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=1826956&id=679244B3-155D-451F-67837C10D0EBA307&gid=678FAEE7-155D-451F-6709C8C58EBD1868

For more information:

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

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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.

Colorway Inspiration:

We used this photo of the town intersection for the inspiration: https://www.nps.gov/chsc/index.htm

For more information: