>> THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY GRANTS FROM THE SOUTHERN HUMANITIES MEDIA FUND, THE ARKANSAS HUMANITIES COUNCIL, AND THE DELTA FOUNDATION, IMPROVING LIFE IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA SINCE 1936.

>> Narrator: BEFORE THE NORTH IGNITED OVER COURT-ORDERED DESEGREGATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS... >> I AM WHITE AND I WANT MY RIGHTS.

>> Narrator: ...BEFORE GOVERNOR GEORGE WALLACE DEFIED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BY STANDING IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR... >> I DRAW THE LINE IN THE DUST AND TOSS THE GAUNTLET BEFORE THE FEET OF TYRANNY AND I SAY SEGREGATION NOW, SEGREGATION TOMORROW, AND SEGREGATION FOREVER.

>> Narrator: ...BEFORE THE RIOTING IN OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI... >> FRIENDS, I'M A MISSISSIPPI SEGREGATIONIST, AND I AM PROUD OF IT.

>> Narrator: ...BEFORE TROOPS WERE SENT TO LITTLE ROCK TO ENFORCE DESEGREGATION... >> WE ARE NOW AN OCCUPIED TERRITORY.

IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY WE HOLD SO DEAR, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?

>> Narrator: ...BEFORE ALL THIS, THERE WAS HOXIE.

>> I THINK THIS WILL GIVE US SOME IDEA OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, DON'T YOU?

>> Narrator: HOWARD VANCE HAS LIVED IN LAWRENCE COUNTY, ARKANSAS, FOR OVER 80 YEARS.

IN THE 1950s, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD OF HOXIE, A SMALL FARMING TOWN.

AT THAT TIME, THE MAJORITY OF SOUTHERN LEADERS WERE CHALLENGING THE DESEGREGATION DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT, EVEN THREATENING A SECOND CIVIL WAR.

BUT THE MEMBERS OF THE HOXIE BOARD, ALONG WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE IN A FEW OTHER COMMUNITIES, TOOK A DIFFERENT STAND.

PROPELLED BY CONSCIENCE AS MUCH AS LAW, THEY IMMEDIATELY INTEGRATED THEIR SCHOOLS.

NOTHING IN THESE MEN'S EXPERIENCE COULD HAVE PREPARED THEM FOR THE STRUGGLE TO FOLLOW.

DECADES AFTER THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVES, THE CHAINS OF APARTHEID STILL STRETCHED ACROSS THE AMERICAN SOUTH.

LAWS REQUIRING THE SEGREGATION OF RACES, NICKNAMED JIM CROW LAWS, WERE SANCTIONED IN 1896 BY THE SUPREME COURT WHEN IT RULED THAT USING SEPARATE RAILROAD CARS FOR BLACKS AND WHITES WAS LEGAL AS LONG AS EACH RACE WAS ACCOMMODATED EQUALLY.

FOR OVER HALF A CENTURY THIS "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" CLAUSE PROVIDED THE LEGAL FOUNDATION FOR KEEPING BLACKS OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM OF AMERICAN LIFE.

IN THE 1930s, THE NAACP BEGAN A SERIES OF APPEALS TO THE SUPREME COURT ARGUING THAT SEPARATE COULD NEVER BE EQUAL.

THEIR FIRST TARGET WAS EDUCATION.

>> BLACKS HAD NO WAY OF REALLY ASSERTING THEMSELVES LEGALLY.

THEY COULDN'T VOTE.

THE INABILITY TO VOTE AND THE INABILITY TO GO TO EQUAL OR INTEGRATED SCHOOLS WERE ALL PART AND PARCEL OF THE WHOLE SAME SEGREGATIONIST BALL OF WAX.

>> THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE INSTANCE THAT I KNOW OF IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES, BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH, WHERE ANYBODY IN YOUR WILDEST IMAGINATION COULD CLAIM THEIR SCHOOL SYSTEM WAS EQUAL; THAT THE BLACKS HAD AN EQUAL SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH THE WHITES.

>> Narrator: IN 1954 THURGOOD MARSHALL, CHIEF COUNSEL FOR THE NAACP, CHALLENGED THE "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" CLAUSE BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT.

IN THE CASE, BROWN VS.

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, MARSHALL AND HIS STAFF ARGUED THAT SEPARATE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES WERE INHERENTLY UNEQUAL AND VIOLATED THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE OF THE 14th AMENDMENT.

IN A UNANIMOUS DECISION, THE COURT AGREED AND MADE THE INTEGRATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS THE LAW OF THE LAND.

>> EVERYBODY WAS JUST ROLLING.

THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO ACCEPT THAT BECAUSE THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME A COURT HAD ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE FRONT ON, THE FIRST TIME THAT LAWS HAD BEEN CHALLENGED.

>> SO BROWN WAS IMPORTANT, BUT BROWN WAS IMPORTANT IN THE LATTER SENSE BUT ALSO IMPORTANT AS ESSENTIALLY THE CENTERPIECE OF THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF SEGREGATION.

IF YOU PULLED THAT OUT, THEN THE WHOLE THING COULD COLLAPSE.

>> THIS WAS A BOMBSHELL, NOT JUST IN EDUCATION BUT EVERYBODY REALLY FEARED WHAT WAS COMING.

>> THE SOUTH STANDS TODAY WHERE WE STOOD DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA.

IF WE ARE VICTORIOUS IN THE DAYS THAT LIE AHEAD, IT WILL BE BECAUSE OF THE... >> Narrator: WHILE SOUTHERN LEADERS PREPARED THEIR RESPONSE, TWO SMALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS QUIETLY INTEGRATED SOME OF THEIR CLASSES.

FEARING THE REACTION OF THE REST OF THE SOUTH, CHARLESTON SUPERINTENDENT WOODY HAYNES CAME TO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE LOCAL PRESS: THERE WOULD BE NO COVERAGE OF THE SCHOOL INTEGRATION.

OUT-OF-TOWN REPORTERS WERE TURNED AWAY.

>> HE JUST DID NOT ALLOW THEM IN.

THEY'D SAY, "WELL, HOW MANY BLACKS ARE INSIDE THAT SCHOOL?"

HE'D SAY, "I DON'T KNOW.

WE HAVEN'T COUNTED THEM."

HE JUST REFUSED TO COMMENT.

>> Narrator: TUCKED AWAY IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN ARKANSAS AND PROTECTED BY A PRESS BLACKOUT, THE FIRST INTEGRATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE SOUTH WENT UNCHALLENGED, BUT SOUTHERN RESISTANCE TO THE FEDERAL MANDATE WAS GROWING.

>> ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH ARE IN FAVOR OF SEGREGATION, AND SUPREME COURT OR NO SUPREME COURT, WE ARE GOING TO MAINTAIN SEGREGATED SCHOOLS DOWN IN DIXIE.

>> THE POLITICAL TREND IS AGAINST US, BUT THE OVERRIDING TREND OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING THAT FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE THAT THE STATES ARE SOVEREIGN, THEY MUST NOT BE CRUSHED IN AN OVERWHELMING CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, IS GAINING STRENGTH.

>> THIS FORUM HAS BEEN PRESENTED BY THE CITIZENS COUNCILS OF AMERICA.

>> Narrator: SEGREGATIONIST LEADERS FORMED WHITE CITIZENS COUNCILS TO RESIST INTEGRATION.

THEY PREACHED THAT BECAUSE THE CONSTITUTION RELEGATED EDUCATION TO THE CONTROL OF THE STATES, THE BROWN DECISION WAS ILLEGAL.

THEY FURTHER CLAIMED THE RIGHT OF INTERPOSITION; THE ABILITY TO USE STATE LAW TO NULLIFY A FEDERAL LAW.

>> I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE FOUGHT THE CIVIL WAR ABOUT.

FOR ANYBODY TO RAISE THE ISSUE OF NULLIFICATION AND INTERPOSITION, THAT WAS NOTHING IN THE WORLD BUT A SMOKESCREEN FOR THE UNSOPHISTICATED TO BUY INTO AND SAY, "WE HAVE OUR RIGHTS.

THEY CAN'T PUSH THIS OFF ON US."

>> THE INTERPOSITION WAS SIMPLY A WAY FOR THE PEOPLE TO SAY, "WE ARE GOING TO OPPOSE THIS ILLEGAL ACT EN MASS, AND YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH JAILS TO LOCK US ALL UP."

THAT'S REALLY THE BASIS OF INTERPOSITION.

>> TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE.

>> I PERSONALLY BELIEVE IF YOU TRY TO GO TOO FAR TOO FAST IN LAWS IN THIS DELICATE FIELD THAT HAS INVOLVED THE EMOTIONS OF SO MANY MILLIONS OF AMERICANS, YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE.

>> PRESIDENT EISENHOWER DID NOT LIKE THE BROWN DECISION.

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S PART OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH.

WITH THAT ATTITUDE IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING TO IMPLEMENT THINGS.

>> Narrator: THE COURT HAD CALLED FOR THE INTEGRATION OF SCHOOLS "AT ALL DELIBERATE SPEED."

THIS CLAUSE WAS TAKEN BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND LEADERS IN THE SOUTH AS LICENSE TO DELAY IMPLEMENTATION INDEFINITELY.

>> THEY DIDN'T SAY "EQUALIZE."

THEY SAID BRING IT ABOUT "BY ALL DELIBERATE SPEED."

THAT IS, WHEN IT'S RIGHT.

WHEN IT'S RIPE; WHEN YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT RESISTANCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

>> Narrator: WITH THE SOUTH RALLYING TO THE RESISTANCE BANNER AND WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAKING NO MOVE TO ENFORCE THE SUPREME COURT ORDER, IT WOULD FALL ON AN UNLIKELY GROUP OF MEN IN A TINY, EQUALLY UNLIKELY PLACE TO ANSWER THE CALL AND CHALLENGE THE NATION.

HOXIE IS A SMALL TOWN IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS, 100 MILES NORTH OF LITTLE ROCK AND 75 MILES NORTHWEST OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

IN 1955, THE TOWN WAS JUST A COLLECTION OF SMALL BUILDINGS STRUNG ALONG THE MISSOURI, PACIFIC, AND FRISCO RAILROADS.

WHILE PUBLIC FACILITIES WERE SEGREGATED, RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS WERE NOT, AND INTERRACIAL FRIENDSHIPS WERE COMMON.

>> WE WERE JUST A VERY RELAXED TOWN.

NOW, WE DIDN'T GO PARTYING TOGETHER, I'M NOT SAYING THAT.

WE DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL TOGETHER, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO LIVE TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY WITHOUT A LOT OF PROBLEMS.

>> ALSO BEING IN AN EXTREMELY POOR AREA, YOU EITHER SINK OR SWIM TOGETHER.

YOU HAVE TO SURVIVE.

SO IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, EVERYBODY WORKS TOGETHER.

THE WHITES DID BECAUSE, NUMBER ONE, THEY WERE JUST AS POOR AS WE WERE.

AND THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH OF US TO POSE ANY TYPE OF THREAT TO THEM IN ANY WAY.

>> YOU SEE, HOXIE HAD RELATIVELY FEW BLACK PEOPLE COMPARED TO THE COMMUNITIES AROUND THEM.

THAT'S WHAT MADE THEM SORT OF A STRANGE BREED UP THERE.

>> IT WAS, AS MY FATHER USED TO SAY, A LOT BIGGER TOWN THAN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THERE WOULD INDICATE.

THERE WAS SOMETHING STRANGELY AND MARVELOUSLY SOPHISTICATED ABOUT IT FOR A LITTLE HICK TOWN.

>> Narrator: LIKE THE REST OF THE SOUTH, HOXIE RAN A SEGREGATED SCHOOL SYSTEM.

WHITE STUDENTS WERE PROVIDED QUALITY SCHOOLS WITH ALL THE NECESSARY AMENITIES.

LIKE MOST SMALL TOWNS, HOXIE COULDN'T AFFORD TWO SUCH SCHOOLS SO BLACK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAD TO BE BUSSED 23 MILES TO JONESBORO.

BUT YOUNGER STUDENTS WERE PROVIDED THEIR OWN FACILITY.

>> THE SCHOOL AT THAT TIME SAT DOWN ON HIGHWAY 63.

IT HAD NO PLAYGROUND.

IT REALLY HAD NO GRASS OR ANYTHING.

WHEN IT RAINED, IT WAS JUST A PUDDLE OF WATER OUT THERE.

THE KIDS, THEY HAD, LIKE, A BOARD OR PLANK OR SOMETHING THAT THEY WALKED ACROSS TO GET TO THE SCHOOL.

>> THE FRONT OF THE YARD, IF YOU WOULD, WOULD BE OUR PLAYGROUND.

THE BUILDING WAS JUST ONE LARGE ROOM, BUT WE DID HAVE A STAGE AND WE HAD A STOVE HEATED BY WOOD THAT WOULD HEAT THE SCHOOL FOR US.

>> Narrator: THE SCHOOL HAD OUTDOOR TOILETS, BROKEN WINDOWS, AND A LEAKING ROOF.

STUDENTS HAD TO GO TWO DOORS AWAY TO GET A DRINK OF FRESH WATER.

>> WE KNEW IT WASN'T RIGHT AND THAT OUR BLACKS WERE NOT GETTING AN EQUAL EDUCATION FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE '55.

BUT WE WASN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT ON OUR OWN AT THAT TIME.

>> POLITICALLY IF YOU HAD SAID, "LOOK, WE'VE GOT TO START GIVING BLACK CHILDREN AS GOOD AN EDUCATION AS WE'RE GIVING WHITES," A GOOD SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION, PROBABLY A MAJORITY, NOT JUST IN HOXIE BUT ALL ACROSS THE SOUTH, PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SAID, "ARE YOU INSANE?

WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAX OURSELVES FOR ANY SUCH NONSENSE AS THAT."

I MEAN, THAT'S HOW DEEP-SEATED RACISM WAS.

>> Narrator: THE SCHOOL TERM IN HOXIE BEGAN IN JULY TO ALLOW FOR A FALL RECESS WHEN THE CHILDREN WOULD BE NEEDED FOR FARM WORK.

WHEN THE SUPERINTENDENT AND FIVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SAT DOWN FOR THEIR JUNE MEETING, THEY HAD READ OF THE SUPREME COURT DECISION.

>> WHEN THEY DONE THAT, WE FELT LIKE THAT WE WERE ON GOOD GROUNDS IF WE WANTED TO INTEGRATE.

WE HAD TALKED ENOUGH ABOUT IT THAT WE WERE ALL PRETTY WELL SET IN WHAT WE WANTED TO DO.

AND IT WAS A UNANIMOUS VOTE.

WE THOUGHT IT WAS RIGHT AND THAT IT WAS THE LAW OF THE LAND AND THAT WE HAD TAKEN AN OATH TO UPHOLD THE LAW AND WE WERE GOING TO DO IT.

>> I REMEMBER IT WAS A SUNDAY MORNING AND WE SAW THE PAPER WHERE THAT HOXIE WAS VOLUNTARILY INTEGRATING THEIR SCHOOLS, AND WE WERE VERY PLEASED.

THAT WAS BASICALLY WHEN THE DECISION OF BROWN VS... BROWN BECAME A REALITY TO US BECAUSE REALLY BEFORE THAT IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAD HAPPENED IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WORLD.

>> Narrator: SUPERINTENDENT VANCE, A LONGTIME SUPPORTER OF INTEGRATION, HAD SPENT THE PREVIOUS YEAR PREPARING WHITE PARENTS AND STUDENTS FOR WHAT HE KNEW WAS COMING.

>> HE USED THE TEACHERS WHO HAD POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD IT TO HELP FAN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, TO ENCOURAGE AND TO PROMOTE THE THINKING THAT WAS GOING ON.

THIS WAS A TREMENDOUS HELP.

>> Narrator: RELATIVELY FEW LOCALS PUBLICLY EXPRESSED OPPOSITION, AND THE BOARD FELT CONFIDENT THAT MOST OF THE COMMUNITY WOULD SUPPORT THEM.

BUT THIS WAS STILL THE SEGREGATED SOUTH, AND AS THE DATE FOR INTEGRATION APPROACHED, AN UNDERCURRENT OF TENSION COULD BE FELT IN THE AIR.

>> WE WERE DOING SOMETHING THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.

MOST PEOPLE WASN'T RAISED THAT-A- WAY.

>> REALLY WITHIN MYSELF, I HAD SOME QUALMS ABOUT IT, BECAUSE I WAS WONDERING HOW IT WOULD WORK.

YOU SEE, I HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP IN THIS WORLD OF BLACK AND WHITE.

WE DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL TOGETHER.

WE DIDN'T WORSHIP TOGETHER.

WE DIDN'T DO ANY OF THOSE THINGS TOGETHER.

>> Narrator: JULY 11, 1955, THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

UNLIKE IN CHARLESTON, A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR LIFE MAGAZINE IS IN HOXIE TO RECORD THE EVENT.

CONCERNED PARENTS, WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE OTHERWISE ACCOMPANIED THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, ARRIVE TO OBSERVE.

NOT ALL OF THEM SUPPORTED THE BOARD'S DECISION.

>> "A HANDFUL OF PARENTS LOITERED DISCONSULATELY AROUND THE SCHOOLYARD MAKING EXCELLENT SUBJECTS FOR THE MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHER AT THE SCENE.

ONE FATHER IS REPUTED TO HAVE OFFERED $100 TO ANYONE WHO COULD GO INTO THE BUILDING AND BEAT UP SUPERINTENDENT K.E.

VANCE WHO STANDS 6'3" AND WEIGHS 245 POUNDS.

THERE WERE NO TAKERS.

CABLE PHILLIPS, NEW YORK TIMES" >> Narrator: AS THE STUDENTS SETTLE INTO THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SCHOOL DAY, TENSIONS DECREASE.

>> THE SCHOOLCHILDREN HAD A GREAT DAY.

THEY LOVED PLAYING WITH THOSE KIDS.

THOSE KIDS KNEW GAMES THEY DIDN'T KNOW.

AND IT WAS JUST WONDERFUL.

>> THE BLACK KIDS AND THE WHITE KIDS GOT ALONG FINE.

WE WERE ALL JUST KIDS.

WE PLAYED JUMPROPE, HOP SCOTCH, TYPICAL THINGS THAT KIDS PLAYED THEN.

AND JUST GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, RAN AROUND THE FIELD TOGETHER.

RAN UP AND DOWN THE YARD HOLDING HANDS OR JUST DIFFERENT THINGS THAT KIDS DID AT THAT AGE.

>> AS SOON AS THE DECISION WAS MADE, THERE WAS NO PROBLEM.

THEY DID GO PEACEABLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

AND THEN THAT'S WHEN THE PROBLEMS STARTED.

>> NOTHING BAD HAPPENED UNTIL THAT LIFE MAGAZINE STORY CAME OUT.

>> Narrator: THESE IMAGES QUICKLY BECOME A RALLYING POINT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE INTEGRATION BATTLE.

>> "SO MUCH EMPHASIS HAS BEEN PLACED IN SO MANY QUARTERS ON THE RESISTANCE TO DESEGREGATION IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT LIFE'S STORY OF HOXIE COMES AS A REFRESHING REASSURANCE OF THE BASIC DECENCY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE."

ROY WILKENS, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, NAACP.

>> YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PERMIT THE NAACP TO CONTROL YOUR STATE.

AND UNLESS WE ORGANIZE IN THE SOUTH AND UNLESS WE PRESENT A UNITED SOUTHERN FRONT, WE ARE GOING TO BE CRUSHED.

>> THE LEADERSHIP WAS AFRAID THAT IT WOULD SET A PRECEDENT THAT COULD NOT BE LIVED WITH IN THE OTHER AREAS OF THE SOUTH, AND THEY WERE FEARFUL AS TO WHERE THAT WOULD TAKE THEM.

THEREFORE, THEY WERE INSISTENT THAT HOXIE BE RESISTED IN THE EARLY STAGES.

>> IF LIFE MAGAZINE HAD NOT PUBLISHED THAT STORY ABOUT THE DESEGREGATION OF SCHOOLS AT HOXIE, CHANCES ARE HOXIE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PICKED AS A TARGET FOR THE SEGREGATIONISTS.

THAT'S PURE SPECULATION, OF COURSE.

THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT LIFE DID THE WRONG THING.

I'M A JOURNALIST BY TRADE.

I'VE BEEN A REPORTER ALL MY LIFE.

YOU GO WHERE THE STORY IS.

>> IT STIRRED UP THE WHOLE SOUTH.

THAT'S WHEN EVERYBODY COME IN ON US, YOU SEE?

>> Narrator: CHEAPLY PRINTED HANDBILLS POSTMARKED MEMPHIS, ST. LOUIS, DALLAS AND LITTLE ROCK FLOOD THE TOWN.

STUFFED INTO MAILBOXES, SLID UNDER DOORS AND LEFT IN OPEN CARS, THEY BEAR THE IMPRINT OF WHITE AMERICA INC., THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WHITE PEOPLE, AND SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS.

ALL THIS SERVES AS A TRIGGER FOR THE LATENT DISCONTENT IN HOXIE.

HERBERT BREWER, A LOCAL SOYBEAN FARMER AND PART-TIME AUCTIONEER, IMMEDIATELY EMERGES AS THE LEADER OF THIS INCREASINGLY VOCAL OPPOSITION.

>> YOU KNOW, I'D KNOWN HIM ALL MY LIFE.

I NEVER KNEW THAT HE WAS OPPOSED TO INTEGRATION UP UNTIL THEN.

>> I JUST COULD NEVER GET MYSELF TO UNDERSTAND AND TO REALIZE HOW HERBERT COULD DO THAT, OF ALL THE PEOPLE THERE, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE THAT YOU WOULD THINK WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SUPPORTIVE OF US BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ALL OF HIS LIFE.

HE GREW UP AROUND US.

>> I KNEW ALL THOSE PEOPLE AND I HAD KNOWN THEM ALL MY LIFE.

I DIDN'T CRITICIZE NO BLACK PERSON WHATSOEVER, AND I STILL DON'T.

I DON'T CRITICIZE THOSE PEOPLE.

THERE'S A FEW OF THEM...

SOME OF THEM, ALL THE OLDER ONES ARE GONE THAT WAS HERE THEN, BUT WHY THOSE PEOPLE THOUGHT AS MUCH OF ME AS THEY DID... AND I THOUGHT A LOT OF THEM PEOPLE TOO.

>> THE SOUTH HAS BEEN UNDER ATTACK OVER THIS COUNTRY.

>> Narrator: SOME SAY BREWER HAD FALLEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE NEWLY FORMED CITIZENS COUNCILS, BUT HE ASSERTS THAT HE HAD NOT ATTENDED ANY SUCH MEETINGS YET.

>> THE PEOPLE IN HOXIE, THE GROUP OF PEOPLE, DIFFERENT ONES CAME TO ME AND SAID, "WE OUGHT TO GO TALK TO THE SCHOOL BOARD."

THAT'S JUST HOW SIMPLE.

"WE OUGHT TO GO TALK TO THEM AND FIND OUT WHAT ALL THIS SITUATION IS ABOUT."

NO, I HAD NEVER BEEN TO A CITIZEN COUNCIL.

>> Narrator: BREWER'S GROUP CONFRONTS THE SCHOOL BOARD.

>> WE HELD THE MEETING AND TRIED TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY ASKED US, AND NO ANSWERS WE GAVE WOULD SATISFY ANY OF THEM.

>> Narrator: BREWER AND HIS GROUP IMMEDIATELY CALL FOR A BOYCOTT OF THE SCHOOLS UNTIL THE BOARD REVERSES ITS DECISION.

>> SO THERE WAS SORT OF A CALL FOR PEOPLE TO BE PULLED OUT OF SCHOOL AT THAT TIME.

IT WAS, "WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEND OUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL WITH BLACKS."

THAT WAS THE STAND OF MY FATHER BUT NOT MY MOTHER.

SO NOT ONLY WERE THE... NOT ONLY WAS THE TOWN DIVIDED BUT FAMILIES WERE ALSO DIVIDED.

>> Narrator: TEN-YEAR-OLD LARRY WEEKS IS TAKEN OUT OF HIS SCHOOL BY HIS FATHER BUT SOON AFTERWARDS IS RETURNED TO CLASS BY HIS MOTHER.

>> SHE FELT LIKE THEY DESERVED BETTER THAN THEY HAD THERE AND THAT THEY DESERVED THE SAME OPPORTUNITY THAT WE DID AND THAT WE SHOULD NOT BOYCOTT THEM BEING AT HOXIE HIGH SCHOOL.

>> Narrator: ASSUMING THAT HIS BLACK NEIGHBORS ARE EQUALLY DISTURBED BY THE SUDDEN CHANGES IMPOSED BY THE BOARD, BREWER ATTEMPTS TO GET THEM TO JOIN THE BOYCOTT.

>> WHEN HE CAME TO OUR HOUSE, IT WASN'T A THREAT; IT WAS A REQUEST THAT WE WOULD NOT SEND OUR KIDS TO SCHOOL.

HE SAID, "MARSHAL, IF YOU AND ROSEMARY DON'T SEND YOUR KIDS, THE REST OF THEM WON'T SEND THEIRS."

SO WE TOLD HIM THAT THAT WOULDN'T WORK BECAUSE WE WERE GOING TO SEND OUR KIDS.

I SAID, "IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MY KIDS, I WILL FIND YOU BECAUSE I'LL HOLD YOU PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAPPEN."

>> Narrator: SOON BREWER AND HIS GROUP WERE TRAVELING ACROSS THE STATE TO ATTEND SEGREGATIONIST RALLIES.

>> WHEN IT FIRST STARTED WE WENT DOWN, ME AND THREE MORE OR FOUR MORE GUYS, TO A MEETING.

THAT'S WHEN WE MET SANDER EASTLAND, JUDGE BRADY, AND GEORGE WALLACE WAS THERE, I THINK.

>> Narrator: ALSO PRESENT IS STATE SENATOR JIM JOHNSON.

HE PROPOSED AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO BLOCK FEDERALLY IMPOSED INTEGRATION AND TO SPEAKING ACROSS THE STATE TO RALLY SUPPORT.

>> PRESENT AT THAT MEETING WAS A YOUNG MAN BY THE NAME OF HERBERT BREWER, AND HERBERT CAME TO DEWITT TO TELL US A STORY OF HOXIE.

HE SAID, "SENATOR, OUR SCHOOL BOARD HAS VOTED TO INTEGRATE OUR SCHOOLS AGAINST OUR WILL."

>> Narrator: BREWER GETS ADVICE FROM JOHNSON ON HOW TO ORGANIZE THE TOWN'S OPPOSITION.

HE ALSO MEETS AMOS GUTHRIDGE, A LITTLE ROCK LAWYER AND STATE CHAIRMAN OF WHITE AMERICA INC. WHO TRAVELS TO HOXIE AND TAKES UP RESIDENCE IN THE TOWN.

THEY'RE QUICKLY JOINED BY OTHER OUTSIDE AGITATORS, AND BREWER ANNOUNCES THE FORMATION OF A LOCAL CITIZENS COUNCIL WITH HIMSELF AS CHAIR.

>> THERE'S FIVE OR SIX IN THE GROUP THAT WAS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, ACT AS A COUNCIL.

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

WE TOOK ADVICE FROM JIM AND AMOS GUTHRIDGE.

HE WAS A LAWYER.

>> HERBERT WAS NOT AN EDUCATED PERSON.

AND SOMEBODY LIKE JOHNSON OR THE PEOPLE THAT WAS WORKING WITH HIM, THEY WOULD WANT SOMEBODY LIKE HIM THAT WAS EASY TO MANIPULATE.

THEN, OF COURSE, ONCE THEY GOT HIM, THIS KIND OF PUT HIM IN THE LIMELIGHT, WHICH HE PROBABLY ENJOYED.

THEN THERE WERE OTHERS ON THE SAME LEVEL, SAME SCALE AS HE, THAT HE COULD TALK TO AND GET THEM RILED UP LIKE HE WAS.

>> Narrator: BREWER CALLS A MEETING AT THE TOWN HALL.

AMOS GUTHRIDGE IS THE FIRST TO SPEAK, OPENING WITH THE WORDS, "IT'S GOOD TO BE HERE WITH ALL YOU WHITE PEOPLE."

>> THEY HAD TOWN MEETINGS, AND MY MOTHER WENT DOWN AND SPOKE IN FAVOR OF INTEGRATION AT ONE OF THE TOWN MEETINGS.

I DIDN'T REALLY REALIZE THE GRAVITY OF THAT STORY UNTIL I GOT OLDER.

I KIND OF LOOK BACK AND SHE WAS A WHITE FEMALE IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS TRYING TO RAISE TWO BOYS, AND CERTAINLY WE WERE AT THE MERCY OF WHOEVER WOULD HIRE US HERE.

SO IT TOOK A LOT OF COURAGE FOR HER TO DO THAT, I THINK.

>> Narrator: THE CROWD IS IN NO MOOD TO LISTEN TO SCHOOL BOARD SUPPORTERS.

A LOCAL MINISTER ENDS THE MEETING WITH THE PROMISE THAT GOD WILL CONDONE VIOLENCE IN HOXIE IF IT IS NECESSARY TO PRESERVE THE PURITY OF THE WHITE RACE.

OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, ONE- THIRD OF THE WHITE STUDENTS STAY HOME.

>> UNTIL THE OUTSIDERS CAME IN AND STIRRED THOSE THAT WOULD FOLLOW THEM, WE HAD NO PROBLEMS AT ALL.

IT WAS GOING SO SMOOTHLY, YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE.

>> IT WOULD HAVE WORKED IN HOXIE EXCEPT FOR OUTSIDE ADVICE AND AGITATION.

NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.

THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THE FACT THAT I WAS A PART OF THE OUTSIDE ADVICE AND AGITATION.

>> Narrator: JOHNSON'S SUPPORT INVIGORATES THE NEW COUNCIL.

WITH AMOS GUTHRIDGE ACTING AS LEGAL ADVISOR, THEY AGAIN CONFRONT THE SCHOOL BOARD.

>> THEY THREATENED US WITH LAWSUITS.

THEY THREATENED US WITH EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD THAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO, THAT WE WERE VIOLATING THE LAW AND THAT WE WERE VIOLATING WHAT THE BIBLE SAID AND ALL THIS STUFF.

WHEN THEY GOT THROUGH TALKING I SAID, "YOU HAVE HAVEN'T AFFECTED US ONE BIT.

WE'RE GOING TO GO RIGHT ON WITH OUR SCHOOL LIKE IT IS, AND YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO.

WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN DO."

>> Narrator: A RESOLUTION IS PRINTED AND ADOPTED TO MAINTAIN AND INTENSIFY THE BOYCOTT.

>> "WHEREAS SUCH ACTION HAS CREATED UNFAVORABLE PUBLICITY FOR HOXIE AND ARKANSAS IN THE NATIONAL PRESS, AND WHEREAS THIS IS THE FIRST STEP IN THE SOUTH TO BREAK DOWN ALL RACIAL BARRIERS, WE WILL NOT PATRONIZE OR SUPPORT THE HOXIE SCHOOLS."

>> Narrator: THE RESOLUTION GOES ON TO EXPRESS THE MOST PREVALENT SEGREGATIONIST RHETORIC OF THE TIME.

>> "THE NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF ASSOCIATION IN THE CLASSROOM WHERE COLORED AND WHITE CHILDREN WILL BE THROWN TOGETHER ALMOST DAILY WILL BE INTERMARRIAGE BETWEEN THE RACES, A THING NOT DESIRED BY WHITE OR COLORED."

>> THE WHITE MEN WERE AFRAID THAT THE BLACK MEN WERE GOING TO MARRY THEIR WHITE DAUGHTERS, AND THEY DIDN'T WANT...

THEY COULDN'T STAND THE THOUGHT OF A BLACK MAN TOUCHING A WHITE WOMAN.

>> THEY WANT TO THROW WHITE CHILDREN AND COLORED CHILDREN INTO THE MELTING POT OF INTEGRATION, OUT OF WHICH WILL COME A CONGLOMERATED MULATTO MONGREL CLASS OF PEOPLE.

BOTH RACES WILL BE DESTROYED IN SUCH A MOVEMENT.

>> THEY DO NOT WANT EQUALITY.

YOU KNOW THEY DON'T WANT EQUALITY.

THEY DON'T WANT SOMETHING LIKE YOU GOT.

THEY WANT WHAT YOU GOT: YOUR WOMEN.

>> Narrator: HOXIE CITIZENS ARE CAUGHT UP IN THE SPREADING FERVOR OF ANTI-INTEGRATION RHETORIC, INCLUDING DIRE WARNINGS ABOUT COMMUNIST CONSPIRACIES.

>> THE THINKING WAS THAT IF THEY COULD DISRUPT THE SOUTH, THEY COULD START A REVOLUTION, THE COMMUNISTS COULD START A REVOLUTION AND TAKE OVER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

THIS WAS WIDELY BELIEVED IN THE 1950s.

>> Narrator: BREWER, FOLLOWING JOHNSON'S ADVICE, CIRCULATES A PETITION CALLING FOR THE RESIGNATION OF THE SCHOOL BOARD.

>> ALTHOUGH THEY SIGN PETITIONS FOR US TO RESIGN AND GO BACK AND ALL THAT, THE MAJORITY OF THE LOCAL PEOPLE, BIG MAJORITY, WASN'T AGAINST THEM KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL THERE.

IT WAS JUST THAT THEY WERE SCARED TO DEATH.

>> Narrator: IN A MATTER OF DAYS OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE SIGNED THE PETITION.

WHEN IT'S DELIVERED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD, MANY TOWNSPEOPLE GATHER AT CITY HALL TO AWAIT THE BOARD'S FINAL DECISION.

>> 95% OF THEM SIGNED IT FOR US TO RESIGN.

AND WE DIDN'T.

>> Narrator: THE REFUSAL OF THE BOARD TO BACK DOWN REFLECTS THE DEEPLY FELT NATURE OF THEIR DECISION.

BUT AS THEIR SUPPORT DWINDLES, THEY FIND THEMSELVES MORE AND MORE ISOLATED.

>> PEOPLE STARTED COMING TO OUR HOUSE, MEN, AND CALLED MY HUSBAND OUT.

AND HE WOULD COME BACK IN.

A LOT OF TIME HE'D BE VERY DISTURBED.

"THOSE PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT I CAN'T REVERSE THE LAW.

ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS GET THOSE STUDENTS OUT OF OUR SCHOOL."

AND HE COULDN'T DO THAT.

HE SAID, "I DIDN'T MAKE THE LAW.

I CAN'T CHANGE IT."

>> WE HEARD THAT MR. VANCE, THE SUPERINTENDENT, THAT HE WAS BEING HARASSED DURING THE NIGHT, RECEIVING TELEPHONE CALLS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND SOME OF THE OTHER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WERE BEING HARASSED.

SO THERE WAS TENSION IN THE CITY NOT SO MUCH SO WITH US AS IT WAS BETWEEN THE WHITES, YOU KNOW?

THE PEOPLE THAT WERE FOR THE INTEGRATION AND THOSE THAT WERE NOT.

>> THE TELEPHONE WOULD RING ALL TIMES OF THE NIGHT.

SOMETIMES THEY'D CALL ME A NIGGER-LOVING SON OF A BITCH, OR THEY'D JUST BREATHE REAL DEEP AND HANG UP.

>> Narrator: THE OPEN HOSTILITY OF MANY WHITE PARENTS IS EVENTUALLY PICKED UP BY THEIR CHILDREN.

>> YOU FELT TENSION EVERY DAY YOU WALKED IN THERE BECAUSE, FIRST OF ALL, YOU HAD TO WALK THROUGH THE CROWDS OF PEOPLE TO GET TO THE DOOR.

AND YOU WERE CALLED EVERY NAME UNDER THE SUN JUST GETTING TO THE FRONT DOOR.

SO, YEAH, THAT WAS EVERY DAY.

>> AT THE WATER FOUNTAIN ONE DAY, I WAS THERE TO DRINK.

THEY DIDN'T TOUCH ME.

THEY SPAT.

AND WHEN THEY SPAT, I FOUGHT.

THEN AFTER I HAD DONE THIS, I'M THINKING ABOUT MY PARENTS, WHAT THEY WOULD SAY.

"THAT SPIT, YOU CAN WIPE IT OFF.

THAT WORD, YOU CAN YOU CAN FOCUS IT OUT."

I GOT SCARED THEN.

>> AT THE TIME THIS HAD HAPPENED, THE EMMITT TILL CASE WAS STILL PRETTY PRONOUNCED.

>> Narrator: EMMITT TILL, A BLACK TEEN FROM CHICAGO, HAD BEEN VISITING RELATIVES IN RURAL MISSISSIPPI WHEN HE MADE THE MISTAKE OF SPEAKING TOO CASUALLY TO A WHITE WOMAN WHO RAN THE LOCAL GENERAL STORE.

TILL WAS BRUTALLY BEATEN AND MURDERED BY THE WOMAN'S HUSBAND AND BROTHER-IN-LAW.

THE ACQUITTAL OF THE KILLERS BY AN ALL-WHITE JURY HAD PRICKED THE CONSCIOUS OF THE NATION.

PICTURES OF TILL'S BLOATED, DEFORMED CORPSE WERE PUBLISHED IN JET MAGAZINE.

>> THEY SENT A PICTURE FROM THE JET MAGAZINE.

THEY HAD GOTTEN THAT SOMEPLACE.

THEY SENT TO MISS BRAXTON AND ASKED, "HOW WOULD YOU LIKE FOR THIS TO BE YOUR SON?"

>> Narrator: CONCERNED FOR THE MORALE OF THE BLACK FAMILIES, THE NAACP SENDS A YOUNG FIELD REPRESENTATIVE, MILDRED BOND, TO HOXIE.

>> WE WANTED TO KEEP THE PEOPLE TOGETHER, WANTED TO KEEP THEM FEELING THAT NOT ONLY WERE THEY DOING THE RIGHT THING, THEY COULD DO IT AND THEY COULD DO IT SUCCESSFULLY.

>> Narrator: THE YOUNG, DIMINUTIVE BOND HOLDS NIGHTLY MEETINGS AND WALKS THE CHILDREN TO AND FROM SCHOOL DURING THE DAY.

>> AND IT WAS ONLY APPROPRIATE IN MY JUDGMENT THAT I WOULD GO WITH THEM TO BOLSTER THE PARENTS' RESOLVE, MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THAT I, IN THEIR MINDS, WAS THE NAACP.

HOWEVER FRAIL THIS PRESENCE WAS, THEY HAD NAACP THERE WITH THEM.

>> WE DIDN'T START THIS.

WE DIDN'T INITIATE THIS; BUT AFTER THEY FELT IT HAD OPENED A DOOR FOR US, THERE WAS NO WAY WE WERE GOING TO TURN IT LOOSE.

>> Narrator: BOND COMMUNICATES DAILY WITH NAACP LEADERS WHO ARE CLOSELY MONITORING THE EVENTS UNFOLDING IN ARKANSAS.

>> "DEAR MR. AND MRS. HILL, ALL OF US IN THIS OFFICE ARE IMPRESSED WITH THE COURAGEOUS AND INTELLIGENT MANNER IN WHICH YOU HANDLED THE CURRENT PROBLEM INVOLVING THE STRIKE OF SOME WHITE PARENTS IN HOXIE.

YOU SHOULD... >> "YOU SHOULD STAND FIRM AND INSIST ON YOUR CHILDREN REMAINING IN SCHOOL AND NOT BE PROVOKED BY ANY HOTHEADS ON THE OTHER SIDE.

IN DOING THIS, BEAR IN MIND THAT THE ENTIRE RESOURCES OF THE NAACP ARE BEHIND YOU.

WITH ALL BEST WISHES, VERY TRULY YOURS, THURGOOD MARSHALL, SPECIAL COUNSEL."

>> Narrator: WITH THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE INCREASING, THE BOARD PETITIONS GOVERNOR ORVAL FAUBUS TO INTERVENE; BUT HE REFUSES TO BECOME INVOLVED ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DISPUTE CLAIMING IT IS A PURELY LOCAL MATTER.

BOARD PRESIDENT HOWARD VANCE BEGINS A SEARCH FOR LEGAL REPRESENTATION.

>> BY THAT TIME I HAD WALKED THE STREETS OF WALNUT RIDGE IN HOXIE FOR ABOUT TWO OR THREE DAYS AND FINALLY FOUND BILL AND ROY PENIX TO TAKE THE CASE AND HELP ME.

I COULD FIND NO OTHER LAWYERS THAT WOULD TOUCH IT.

THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

>> WHY WAS IT YOU?

>> WELL, IT WAS MY FATHER AND ME.

MY DADDY WAS A TOWN LIBERAL.

HE HAD FOUGHT THE ANTI-EVOLUTION BILL WHEN HE WAS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE, AND HE WAS PROUD OF THAT.

COST HIM HIS OFFICE THE NEXT TIME.

>> BILL PENIX WAS AN AVOWED LIBERAL ON THE RACE ISSUE AND PROBABLY ON A WHOLE HOST OF OTHER THINGS TOO.

HE WAS A VERY COURAGEOUS MAN.

HE TOOK THAT CASE UP IN HOXIE WHEN THAT WAS A PRETTY TOUGH THING TO DO.

>> Narrator: BILL PENIX'S FIRST ACTION IS TO ADVISE THE BOARD TO END THE SCHOOL TERM TWO WEEKS BEFORE ITS SCHEDULED CLOSING.

THE SEGREGATIONISTS TAKE THIS AS A VICTORY, BUT PENIX IS FAR FROM FINISHED.

>> THEY WERE VERY CLEVER.

YOUNG BILL PENIX HAPPENED TO KNOW THE SENIOR CIVIL RIGHTS ADMINISTRATOR IN THE FEDERAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON WHO HAPPENED TO BE AN ARKANSAS MAN BY THE NAME OF ARTHUR CALDWELL.

>> Narrator: A.B.

CALDWELL, THE GRANDSON OF A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER, HAD GROWN UP ONLY 50 MILES FROM HOXIE.

WHILE SERVING WITH MILITARY INTELLIGENCE DURING WORLD WAR II, AN ASSIGNMENT TOOK HIM TO THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMPS.

>> I THINK THAT HIS EXPERIENCE WITH THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP WAS A TURNING POINT FOR HIS LIFE BECAUSE HE WAS A PROSECUTOR BEFORE WORLD WAR II AND WHEN HE CAME OUT AFTER THE WAR IS WHEN HE STARTED GETTING INVOLVED WITH CIVIL RIGHTS WHICH CULMINATED, I THINK, IN 1951 WHEN HE BECAME THE CHIEF OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS SECTION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

>> Narrator: CALDWELL IS EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HIS HOME STATE, BUT HIS SUPERIORS IN THE EISENHOWER ADMINISTRATION WARN HIM ABOUT OFFERING ASSISTANCE.

>> A LOT OF HIGH-RANKING PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO PUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INTO THE DESEGREGATION BUSINESS.

>> THEY SEEMED TO BE AS AFRAID UP THERE TO GET MESSED UP IN INTEGRATION AS THE PEOPLE IN OUR HOMETOWN WAS.

>> Narrator: CALDWELL IGNORES THE ORDERS FROM HIS SUPERIORS AND BEGINS WORKING SECRETLY WITH BILL PENIX TO DEVISE A LEGAL STRATEGY TO STOP THE SEGREGATIONISTS.

>> WHY DID YOU WANT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVOLVED?

>> I WANTED SOMEBODY WHO KNEW HOW TO FLY THAT BIG AN AIRPLANE.

I COULDN'T DO IT.

>> Narrator: BREWER, JOHNSON, AND GUTHRIDGE CONTINUED TO RALLY SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

>> THERE'S NO MIDDLE GROUND IN THIS FIGHT.

THERE'S NO MIDDLE GROUND IN THIS STRUGGLE.

YOU ARE EITHER FOR US OR YOU ARE AGAINST US.

>> Narrator: ONE NIGHT HOWARD VANCE RECEIVES A CALL FROM AN OLD FRIEND.

>> AND HE SAID, "HOWARD, I'VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK TO YOU, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO COME OVER THERE.

I WAS AFRAID SOMEBODY WOULD SEE ME."

AND HE SAID, "I WAS AFRAID TO CALL.

I WAS AFRAID SOMEBODY WOULD LISTEN IN ON THE PHONE, BUT," HE SAID, "I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I'M BEHIND YOU."

WELL, YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW THAT UPSET ME.

THE SCOTCH-IRISH CAME UP IN ME AND I SAID...

I CALLED HIM A NAME.

I WILL NOT USE THE NAME IN THIS INTERVIEW, BUT I CALLED HIM A NAME.

I SAID, "MISTER, YOU'RE JUST TOO DARNED FAR BEHIND TO HELP ME."

>> WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW BAD THIS THING WAS.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS GOING TO DO WHAT OR WHEN SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

>> Narrator: K.E.

VANCE RECEIVES A THREAT THAT HE'LL BE KILLED AND THROWN OFF A BRIDGE AT NEARBY BLACK ROCK.

HOWARD VANCE LEARNS THAT A HANGMAN'S NOOSE IS BEING PREPARED FOR HIM.

>> WE HEARD OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WOULD DO, WHETHER THEY'D SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE OR WHAT.

>> I PUT MY ARMY .45 IN THE CAR POCKET FREQUENTLY.

>> Narrator: TEENAGERS, OFTEN ARMED, DRIVE THE STREETS AT NIGHT.

THEIR ACTIONS ARE UNPREDICTABLE.

>> WE HAD COMPLETED OUR CHORES.

DEBORAH, YVONNE AND MYSELF WERE IN THE BED TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT HAPPENED AT SCHOOL WHEN WE HEARD THIS NOISE COMING.

IT'S SORT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU EXPECTED TROUBLE.

YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM.

SO IT WAS SORT OF LIKE YOU COULD HEAR IT.

IT'S JUST LIKE A TRAIN COMING FROM AFAR.

AND WE ALL JUMPED UP, AND SEEING WHAT HAPPENED, THE BULLET CAME THROUGH THE BED, THROUGH THE KITCHEN.

IT HAPPENED SO SUDDENLY THAT I SAY GOD DIRECTED THAT BULLET RIGHT BETWEEN OUR HEADS, DEBORAH AND MYSELF.

HAD WE MOVED, LITTLE TO THE RIGHT, ONE OF US WOULD BE KILLED.

>> Narrator: CALDWELL IS ABLE TO CONVINCE J. EDGAR HOOVER TO SEND F.B.I.

AGENTS TO HOXIE.

HE AND BILL PENIX HOPE THIS WILL SERVE AS A FORM OF COUNTERINTIMIDATION.

>> HERE THE RURAL PEOPLE, ALL THEY KNEW ABOUT THE F.B.I.

WAS WHAT SOME OF THEM HAD BEEN ABLE TO SEE IN THIS SERIES ON TELEVISION, AND THEY WERE GLORIFIED.

THEY WERE TOTALLY INTIMIDATED.

>> I THINK YOU THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU DELIBERATELY JUMP ON THE BACK OF AN F.B.I.

AGENT AND START A RUCKUS.

>> Narrator: JUST AS THE PRESENCE OF THE F.B.I.

IS BEGINNING TO QUIET MUCH OF THE LOCAL SEGREGATIONIST SUPPORT, JIM JOHNSON, THE FEATURED SPEAKER FOR A RALLY THAT WEEKEND, ARRIVES IN HOXIE.

>> I WENT TO BREWER'S HOME, AND I WENT IN AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE, AND IT WAS LIKE A WAKE.

>> Narrator: BREWER INFORMS JOHNSON THAT F.B.I.

AGENTS HAVE DESCENDED ON THE TOWN AND THAT THEY HAVE THE PETITION THE COUNCIL PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD.

>> AND THAT THEY WERE KNOCKING ON THE DOORS OF EVERY PERSON WHO HAD SIGNED THAT PETITION AND TELLING THOSE PEOPLE AFTER PRESENTING THEIR CREDENTIALS, "WE SEE HERE WHERE YOU HAVE OPPOSED A SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND BY YOUR SIGNING THIS PETITION."

THE COMMUNITY WAS TOTALLY INTIMIDATED.

>> Narrator: JOHNSON SPENDS THE NEXT MORNING DRIVING ACROSS THE COUNTY, PERSUADING PEOPLE TO ATTEND THE RALLY.

BY THE AFTERNOON, A LARGE CROWD IS GATHERED AT THE COURTHOUSE.

REPRESENTATIVES OF WHITE AMERICA INC.

SPEAK FIRST.

AMOS GUTHRIDGE DECLARES THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD IS ENGAGED IN A REVOLUTIONARY ACT.

HE REMINDS THE CROWD OF THE EMMITT TILL MURDER AND ASSURES THEM THAT IF ANYONE HERE WERE TO COMMIT VIOLENCE AGAINST A MEMBER OF THE BOARD, THE F.B.I.

WOULD BE POWERLESS TO INTERVENE.

STATE LAW AND STATE COURTS WOULD HAVE JURISDICTION.

F.B.I.

AGENTS STAND SILENTLY BY AS JIM JOHNSON TAKES HIS PLACE AT THE PODIUM.

>> I MADE A SPEECH, AND THE SUBSTANCE OF IT WAS THAT THANK GOD WE LIVE IN AMERICA WHERE WE HAVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PETITION OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS FOR THE REDRESS OF OUR GRIEVANCES.

AND IF EVER A COUNTY SHERIFF, A DEPUTY, OR EVEN A MEMBER OF THE GLORIFIED F.B.I EVER COMES TO YOU AND QUESTIONS YOU ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE OF A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, YOU TELL THEM TO GO STRAIGHT TO HELL.

THE CROWD EXPLODED.

>> Narrator: JOHNSON IS ABLE TO RALLY THE CROWD.

AND THE F.B.I.

AGENTS, WITH NO DEFINITE COURT ORDER TO ENFORCE, SOON RETREAT FROM HOXIE.

BILL PENIX KNOWS HE MUST NOW TEST THE BROWN DECISION IN A COURT OF LAW.

HE PETITIONS THE FEDERAL COURT IN LITTLE ROCK FOR AN INJUNCTION AGAINST THE SEGREGATIONISTS.

>> I THOUGHT THAT THE LAW WAS IF UNCLE SAM IS GOING TO MAKE THEM DESEGREGATE THOSE DANG SCHOOLS, THEN UNCLE SAM BETTER PROTECT THEM WHILE THEY TRYING TO DO IT.

THAT WAS MY LAWSUIT.

>> Narrator: SUCH CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION WAS NOT SPELLED OUT IN ANY CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS OF THE TIME, AND A.B.

CALDWELL, WHOSE STAFF HAS BEEN HELPING FROM BEHIND THE SCENES, HAS GOOD CAUSE TO BE WORRIED.

>> OUR LEGAL ARGUMENT WAS REALLY QUITE NOVEL, AND THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND ELSEWHERE WHO THOUGHT THAT WE WERE WAY OUT IN LEFT FIELD.

>> Narrator: THURGOOD MARSHALL AND HIS STAFF URGE PENIX TO CHANGE HIS STRATEGY.

THEY WANT HIM TO MAKE ONE OF HOXIE'S BLACK STUDENTS THE PLAINTIFF IN THE LAWSUIT, BUT PENIX REFUSES.

>> IF THE SCHOOLCHILDREN HAD EITHER JOINED WITH HIM OR HAD FILED A SEPARATE SUIT, IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE SAME MEANING AS THEIR TAKING THE BURDEN THEMSELVES.

>> Narrator: SEGREGATIONIST LEADERS ARE HOPING THAT A JUDGE SITTING ON A SOUTHERN BENCH WILL RULE IN THEIR FAVOR AND PROVIDE A LEGAL CHALLENGE TO THE LEGITIMACY OF THE BROWN DECISION.

THEY'RE DISAPPOINTED.

THE JUDGE ORDERS A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST THE SEGREGATIONISTS UNTIL THE LAW CAN BE STUDIED MORE CAREFULLY.

HE STATES THAT ALL HARASSMENT MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY.

>> I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT VIOLENCE.

I WASN'T WORRIED.

THERE WASN'T NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER ENTERED MY MIND AS FAR AS... THAT'S WHERE IT HURT ME SO BAD FOR THEM TO BRING THIS HARASSMENT THING UP BECAUSE WE HADN'T HARASSED NOBODY.

>> Narrator: JOHNSON JOINS BREWER AND GUTHRIDGE FOR THE NEXT HEARING IN JONESBORO WHERE LOCAL JUDGES ARE RELUCTANT TO TAKE THE CASE.

>> THE JUDGES DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS.

THE FEDERAL JUDGES DIDN'T.

SO THEY CALLED IN A FEDERAL JUDGE FROM KANSAS CITY, RETIRED FEDERAL JUDGE.

>> Narrator: JUDGE ALBERT REEVES PRESIDES OVER TWO DAYS OF HEATED TESTIMONY.

>> "I FIND THAT THE DEFENDANTS HAVE CONSPIRED TO CREATE AN UNDERCURRENT OF MENACE AND THREAT OF HARM TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR AND APPROVING OF THE DESEGREGATION OF THE RACES.

MEETINGS WERE, BY INFLAMMATORY SPEECHES, DISSOLVED INTO A SPIRIT OF REVOLT AGAINST THE LAW."

ALBERT REEVES.

>> Narrator: THE INJUNCTION IS MADE PERMANENT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY THE COURT RULES THAT ATTENDING INTEGRATED SCHOOLS IS NOW A CIVIL RIGHT PROTECTED BY THE CONSTITUTION.

JOHNSON IMMEDIATELY FILES AN APPEAL.

>> IT SIMPLY SAID, "WE ARE ADOPTING THE POSITION THAT THERE IS A LEGITIMATE DISPUTE AS TO THE MEANING OF THIS CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION AS TO WHETHER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS THE AUTHORITY OVER OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS."

>> Narrator: AT THE SAME TIME ECHOS OF THE CIVIL WAR RESONATE THROUGHOUT THE NEWLY DRAFTED SOUTHERN MANIFESTO WHICH PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO INTEGRATION.

IT IS SIGNED BY 96 SOUTHERN CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS.

>> IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE LITMUS TEST FOR SOUTHERN SENATORS.

I DON'T REMEMBER THE WORDING OF THE SOUTHERN MANIFESTO, BUT IT WAS ESSENTIALLY A STATES RIGHT DOCUMENT.

WE HAD PEOPLE WHO SIGNED THAT THAT SIGNED IT FOR ONE REASON; THAT IS, THEY KNEW THEIR POLITICAL LIFE WAS AT STAKE.

>> Narrator: EISENHOWER CAN NO LONGER LOOK THE OTHER WAY.

>> I BELIEVE DEEPLY IN STATES' RIGHTS, BUT IT IS IDLE TO CHAMPION STATES' RIGHTS WITHOUT UPHOLDING STATES' RESPONSIBILITIES AS WELL.

>> Narrator: WHEN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF GEORGIA SEEKS TO JOIN THE HOXIE CASE ON THE SIDE OF THE SEGREGATIONISTS, CALDWELL IS GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT TO STEP FROM BEHIND THE SCENES AND PLACE THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SQUARELY BEHIND SCHOOL INTEGRATION.

HENRY PUTZEL ARGUES THE CASE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND IS IN WASHINGTON WITH A.B.

CALDWELL WHEN THE DECISION IS FINALLY ANNOUNCED.

>> WHEN THE FIRST WORDS OF THE COURT'S RULING CAME OVER, WE WERE TOLD TO RUSH UP TO SEE WHAT THE OUTCOME WAS, AND WE FOUND THAT NOT ONLY HAD WE WON BUT THAT THE COURT USED OUR OWN LANGUAGE FOR MOST OF THE OPINION.

WE WERE ECSTATIC.

>> I REALLY WASN'T SURPRISED.

I THOUGHT THAT THE LAW WAS ON MY SIDE.

>> TO THOSE OF US WHO HAD BEEN FIGHTING THE STATES' RIGHTS BATTLE THROUGH THE YEARS, THIS WAS JUST A ANOTHER COAL ON THAT FIRE.

>> Narrator: THE SEGREGATION LAWS OF ARKANSAS ARE OVERTURNED.

BILL PENIX AND THE BOARD HAVE WON.

FOR CALDWELL, THE VICTORY IS BITTERSWEET.

HIS FATHER, AN AVID SEGREGATIONIST, WOULD NOT SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

THE OUTSIDERS SOON RETREAT FROM HOXIE.

>> EVERYTHING JUST COOLED JUST RIGHT THEN.

THEY DIDN'T WANT THE FEDERAL COURT ON THEM.

>> Narrator: BREWER AND HIS GROUP CONTINUE THEIR FIGHT AGAINST THE BOARD AT THE BALLOT BOX.

>> WHATEVER WE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE LAWSUIT, THE NEXT TIME THEY HAD AN ELECTION A BUNCH OF THOSE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAD BEEN ON OUR SIDE GOT DEFEATED.

THE SEGREGATIONISTS GOT A SUBSTANTIAL FOOT IN THE DOOR.

>> Narrator: HERBERT BREWER IS ELECTED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD.

HE SOON CALLS FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION TO FORCE OUT THE TWO REMAINING MEMBERS OF THE OLD BOARD, BUT WITH THE OUTSIDE AGITATORS GONE, THE PEOPLE OF HOXIE VOTE TO KEEP THEM IN OFFICE.

A LOUISVILLE NEWSPAPER MAN WRITES... >> "IT MIGHT BE THAT THE HOXIE VOTERS FEEL THE REASONS FOR INTEGRATION GIVEN BY THE BOARD ARE STILL VALID OR MAYBE THEY JUST ADMIRE COURAGE.

IN ANY CASE, THE VERDICT IN THIS REMOTE AND DIVIDED LITTLE TOWN IN ARKANSAS WILL STAND AS A LANDMARK IN THE NEWLY CHANGING HISTORY OF THE SOUTH."

>> Narrator: THE PREVIOUS BOARD'S DECISION WOULD NEVER BE OVERTURNED.

JIM JOHNSON BLAMES THE HOXIE DEFEAT ON THE WEAK STANCE OF GOVERNOR ORVAL FAUBUS.

HE ACCUSES THE GOVERNOR OF BEING SOFT ON INTEGRATION AND ACTIVELY CAMPAIGNS AGAINST HIM FOR THE PARTY'S NOMINATION IN THE NEXT ELECTION.

>> FAUBUS, IN THE 1956 ELECTION WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR A SECOND TERM, WAS THE MODERATE CANDIDATE, NOT THE SEGREGATIONIST CANDIDATE.

AND "MODERATE" IN THE CONTEXT OF 1956 MEANT THAT HE WAS SUSPECTED OF BEING AN OUTRIGHT INTEGRATIONIST, WHICH IS TO SAY A COMMUNIST, AND THAT WAS THE MAIN CHARGE THAT HE HAD TO FIGHT OFF FROM HIS CHALLENGER JIM JOHNSON.

>> Narrator: SCARED OF BEING PORTRAYED AS TOO PROGRESSIVE, FAUBUS MOVES QUICKLY TO THE SEGREGATIONIST CAMP AND EASILY WINS REELECTION.

>> FAUBUS HIT THE JACKPOT ON JIM JOHNSON'S NICKEL IN THAT HE SOUGHT AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLACE HIMSELF FIRMLY ON THE SIDE OF THE PEOPLE.

AND THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY HE HAD WAS IN THE SPRING OF '57 IN LITTLE ROCK.

>> TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE.

TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE.

TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE.

>> Narrator: FAUBUS'S MOVE TO COUNTER JIM JOHNSON PUTS HIM DIRECTLY IN THE PATH OF COURT- ORDERED INTEGRATION IN LITTLE ROCK.

HIS INTRANSIGENCE FORCES A RELUCTANT DWIGHT EISENHOWER TO SEND TROOPS INTO THE SOUTH FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE AFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WAR.

>> MOB RULE CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO OVERRIDE THE DECISIONS OF OUR COURT.

THIS CHALLENGE MUST BE MET AND WITH SUCH MEASURES AS WILL PRESERVE TO THE PEOPLE AS A WHOLE THEIR LAWFULLY PROTECTED RIGHTS.

>> THE LITTLE ROCK CASE MADE CLEAR THAT NO STATE COULD WAR AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION AND PUT AN END TO THAT MYTH, THAT FANTASY THAT SOUTHERN STATES HAD THAT SOMEHOW THEY COULD RESIST.

HERE'S EISENHOWER, WHO WAS THEIR FRIEND, WHO CALLED OUT THE AIR FORCE TO PUT DOWN THE INSURRECTION.

>> Narrator: IMAGES OF TROOPS AT LITTLE ROCK SOON ERASED THE STAND OF THE HOXIE SCHOOL BOARD FROM THE PUBLIC MEMORY.

>> WE WERE SEEN AS THE PARIAH, NOT THE LEADER OF THE SOUTH BUT THE PARIAH OF THE SOUTH.

IT WAS A GRAVE, GRAVE TRAGEDY.

OH, WE PAID AND PAID AND PAID FOR IT.

>> I HAVE TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO LET IT BE KNOWN THAT LITTLE ROCK WAS NOT THE FIRST, BUT NOBODY SEEMED INTERESTED.

YOU KNOW, LIKE IT WASN'T IMPORTANT.

BUT I KNOW THAT WE WERE THE FIRST TO DO THIS BEFORE THE LITTLE ROCK NINE.

>> HOXIE SEEMED LIKE A LITTLE BITTY THING, BUT I THINK IT WAS A MONUMENTAL LITTLE BITTY THING TO GET STARTED.

FIRST OF ALL, SOMEBODY HAD TO TAKE A SLEDGEHAMMER AND HIT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IN THE HEAD AND SAY, "YOU'VE GOT TO DO IT, YOU'VE GOT TO DO IT, YOU'VE GOT TO DO IT."

>> WELL, I THINK THE REASON IT DIDN'T HAPPEN MORE OFTEN IS SIMPLY THAT THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE WITH THE COURAGE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

I MEAN, THIS ENTAILED A GOOD DEAL OF RISK BY THESE PEOPLE.

>> HOW THAT YOU GOT SIX PEOPLE WITH THAT MUCH FORTITUDE TO STICK TOGETHER, AND I MEAN STICK TOGETHER LIKE BROTHERS, FOR NEARLY A YEAR WITHOUT GIVING AN INCH, I DON'T KNOW.

I LOOK BACK, IT JUST WAS MEANT TO BE, I GUESS.

>> Narrator: MEANT TO BE OR MADE TO BE?

THE PATH THEY SHOWED US REMAINS A VIVID REMINDER OF THE ROAD NOT TAKEN BY SO MANY OTHERS.

>> THIS ATTEMPT TO BREAK DOWN SEGREGATION MUST BE FOUGHT WITH EVERY LEGAL WEAPON AT OUR DISPOSAL.

>> NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE C. WALLACE, AS GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA DO HEREBY DENOUNCE AND FORBID THIS ILLEGAL AND UNWARRANTED ACTION BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

>> I HAVE SAID IN EVERY COUNTY IN MISSISSIPPI THAT NO SCHOOL IN OUR STATE WILL BE INTEGRATED WHILE I'M YOUR GOVERNOR.

>> THERE WILL BE NO ENFORCED INTEGRATION IN VIRGINIA.

>> Narrator: PERHAPS THE HOXIE OUTCOME COULD NOT HAVE BEEN DUPLICATED THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE SOUTH.

PERHAPS THE NEXT 20 YEARS OF STRUGGLE WERE INEVITABLE.

BUT THE LESSON THAT RACISM, FEAR, AND BIGOTRY MIGHT BE SUBDUED BY GOOD LEADERSHIP RATHER THAN HARNESSED FOR POLITICAL GAIN IS ONE WE'RE STILL WAITING TO LEARN.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org >> THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS WHICH IS SOLEY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT.

>> THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY GRANTS FROM THE SOUTHERN HUMANITIES MEDIA FUND, THE ARKANSAS HUMANITIES COUNCIL, AND THE DELTA FOUNDATION, IMPROVING LIFE IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA SINCE 1936.