As Black History Month comes to a close, the University has made continuing efforts to provide the student body with events and presentations that shed light on the contributions African Americans have made in the development of the United States. D.H. Hill Library brought Minnijean Brown-Trickey to campus last Thursday to speak of her experiences.

Brown-Trickey, along with eight other African American teenagers, was among the first group to take part in the desegregation of schools in 1957. The nation watched their attempt to attend Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, and they faced the scorn and violence of racism as a result.

The move toward desegregation met fierce opposition throughout the state, and Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to blockade the school. It wasn’t until President Dwight Eisenhower intervened, sending the 101 Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, that the nine students were able to enter the school.

Brown-Trickey said that if not for the international audience watching the events taking place in Little Rock, President Eisenhower may not have acted as swiftly.

“Eisenhower had to protect us because the world was watching,” Brown-Trickey said. “The challenge to equal rights was raucous and violent, and was being carried out by armed guards. Those were the images being seen around the world.”

Unfortunately, the sentiment of the mob outside was not abandoned once the Little Rock Nine had been allowed into the school. Even with personal escorts, the Little Rock Nine were targeted by the majority of the white students.

Brown-Trickey recalled the treatment the teens received in the locker rooms in particular. The girls were subjected to faucets set to only produce scalding hot water. The boys, meanwhile, would find their room filled with steam, the floors littered with broken glass.

However, Brown-Trickey made it clear the students themselves were not the ones to blame.

“Those white children were acting as they had been taught,” Brown-Trickey said, “by the governor and by the claims that our being at Central was an abomination.”

Not all of the other students took part in the abuse, but many acted only as silent witnesses. Meanwhile, those that did try to support the Nine were subject to much of the same cruelties, and were often brutally beaten after school. Still, all it took was a supportive smile to remind Brown-Trickey there were white students at the school that supported her.

Allison Hofmann, a junior in nutrition science, said she was inspired by the emphasis Brown-Trickey placed on the small kindnesses.

“The idea that a smile can change a life is invigorating,” Hofmann said. “It shows how collaborating with others, even in small ways, is important in all aspects of life.”

Beyond talking about her experiences in Little Rock, Brown-Trickey also shared her opinions on broader topics of the Equal Rights Movement, and the structural problems that must be overcome.

“Many of the inequalities that still exist in this country,” Brown-Trickey said, “are the result of long-standing sets of values, enforced by law, that continue to justify those unequal beliefs, behaviors and treatments of different groups.”

In particular, Brown-Trickey pointed out that though the more overt examples of racism have been addressed, the subtle types have remained.

“It’s hard to get away from race,” Brown-Trickey said. “It’s in anthropology, science, history and [the negative aspects] haven’t been cleaned out yet.”

The last aspect Brown-Trickey focused on was the problems that still need to be addressed in the modern age, and the ways they can be dealt with. The problem of the silent witness has persisted, and Brown-Trickey recommends that people need to do more to stand up against injustice, whether it is on a small or large scale.

“You are capable of drastic social change,” Brown-Trickey said, “but you are lead to believe that everything in this nation is fine.”

Justin Hills, a freshman in biological sciences, said he found the misleading way some things are taught to be an eye-opener.

“I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that there are aspects of social justice in this country that could and should be taught,” Hills said. “This presentation has made me want to learn more.”

The opportunity for more information is available, and Brown-Trickey works to provide as much of it as she can. The Little Rock Nine Foundation was started to provide the chance to access that knowledge.

“To know history and have a relationship with history is transformative,” Brown-Trickey said.

The talk was sponsored by the Department of Communication as part of Communication Week.