Hi- today we left from New Orleans really early in the morning to go to Little Rock, Arkansas. We drove on the bus for 7 hours. After lunch we arrived at the Little Rock Central High School Visitors Center, which is a national park. There we met with Thelma Mothershed-Wair, who is one of 9 Black high school students who integrated the Little Rock Central High School in September 1957. When these Black students tried to attend school at this all white high school, the governor of Arkansas called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent them from attending there. After a lot of national debate and discussion, President Eisenhower called in national troups to protect the students. Because of the governor having his troups prevent these students from trying to go to school, this focused the nation's attendance on the whole issue of segregation (keeping white people and black people apart). It was really hard to see the pictures and tv footage of these students just trying to go to school. A lot of angry Little Rock people threatened these 9 students, spit on them and said they would kill them. These students were between the ages of 15-17. The governor of Arkansas was so focused on not having his schools integrated that he closed all of Little Rock's public high schools the next year. Thelma said that she wanted to go to a good school but that it was very difficult being ignored by all the white people at the school for a whole year. I don't think I would have that kind of courage to walk up the steps of the school in front of people who hated me and ignored me all day, just because of the color of my skin.

After we left the high school we went to the Arkansas state capitol, which looks just like the US capitol but on a smaller scale, to look at the monument to the Little Rock 9 -- it is statues of the 9 students looking as they did the day they tried to enroll. They wanted the statues placed outside the windows of the governor's office so every governor would be reminded of their struggles to get an education.

I'm excited for tomorrow - we are going to learn about Heifer International and also tour the Clinton Presidential Museum. Then we're going to Memphis, which is the last stop on our trip before we head for home on Sunday night. I am having an amazing time, but i can't wait to be back in Eau Claire.