On September 25^th, 1957 nine African American students known as the “Little Rock Nine” attended their first full day of classes at Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas. Amidst strong opposition from the white community and state government, and under protection of the U.S. Army’s 101^st Airborne Division and National Guardsmen at the direction of President Eisenhower; these nine brave students helped pave the way not only for desegregation of public schools, but ultimately the desegregation of our communities and workplaces. The Little Rock Nine were instrumental in the continued Civil Rights Movement, and the Civil Rights Act that led to the formation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their fight allowed them to receive the opportunities in education and the civil rights that would later enable them to serve our country in both the public and private sectors of employment, through distinguished careers and military service. They became an Assistant Secretary of the Federal Department of Labor under President Jimmy Carter, a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Work Force Diversity in the Department of the Interior under President Clinton, a reporter for NBC, Army Veterans, accountants, and an employee of the Department of Defense. These opportunities may not have been afforded them, or many others, had they not faced opposition and attended Central High. If you are not familiar with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the law:

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