DAISY BATES

IN HER OWN WORDS

featuring

Historic Photographs,

Personal Letters

& Original Documents Pertaining to the

1957 Crisis at Little Rock

Central High School and

the Civil Rights era.

ABOUT DAISY BATES

Daisy Bates made her mark in the pages of American history as the fearless leader of public school integration efforts in Little Rock, Arkansas. As president of the state NAACP and co-publisher of The Arkansas State Press newspaper, Daisy Bates took the forefront in the battle to uphold the 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education, which declared school segregation unconstitutional. Daisy Bates became the mentor and leader of the nine students chosen to integrate Little Rock Central High School. Her home served as their meeting place before and after school. When the first attempt for the nine students to attend the all-White Central High School failed, Daisy Bates made a personal plea to President Dwight Eisenhower to protect the children and enforce the law. That enforcement came in the form of the 101st Airborne Division, sent by President Dwight Eisenhower to assure the students safe entry into the school. On September 25, 1957, the nine students mesmerized the nation when they walked up the stairs of Little Rock's Central High School, attending classes with White students for the first time in Arkansas history. Although there was victory that day, the fight for integration continued throughout the school year and into the 60’s.

THE BOOK

DAISY BATES: IN HER OWN WORDS tells the story of the integration efforts at Little Rock Central High School in the words of Daisy Bates, a key figure in the integration crisis. Using manuscripts, media interviews, documents, personal encounters and personal interviews, author Deborah Robinson weaves Bates’ own words to reveal compelling details and behind the scenes stories of her life and involvement in the crisis at Central High School. Neither the book, the documentary nor the exhibit is intended to be an exhaustive history of integration efforts at Central High School; many other things happened and many other people were responsible for them. Nor do they intend to document the contributions of the many persons involved in the crisis. They are personal historical documentations from the recollection of Daisy Bates. They are intended to piece together highlights of Little Rock’s integration story and the life of Daisy Bates as told by Mrs. Bates from 1942 until her death in 1999. Whether speaking in the historical moment or remembering the times to reporters and friends, sentence tenses may change as her words are pieced together from different times in her life.

Book Signing - NAACP 100^th Annual Convention in New York more

THE DOCUMENTARY

This mini-documentary chronicles Daisy Bates‘ involvement in the Crisis at Central High. Narrated by Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee and Deborah Robinson, this documentary includes dramatic footage and photos of the Crisis at Central High and features the voice of Daisy Bates giving account of the Crisis... In Her Own Words.

Daisy Bates

THE EXHIBIT

DAISY BATES: IN HER OWN WORDS is a photographic exhibit from the book with the same title. It is as much a story in photos and documents as it is in words. Commissioned originally by The University Museum & Cultural Center - University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, photos from the book of these historical times are used - without retouching or corrections - to tell the story of the Crisis at Central High School and the Civil Rights era through the eyes of Daisy Bates. Documents and letters, many worn with the vestiges of time, are combined with select quotes to allow viewers to put the events in Daisy Bates’ life in historical perspective.

EVENTS / ACTIVITIES / APPEARANCES

Book Signing - NAACP 100^th Annual Convention in New York - July 13, 2009

Deborah is among only 100 authors chosen to participate in the 2009 NAACP Centennial Author Pavilion at the Commerce and Industry Show. Other authors include Dr. Cornel West, Diahanne Carroll, Terry McMillan, Walter Mosely, Chris Gardner, E. Lynn Harris, Julian Bond, Roland Martin, Dr. Dorothy Height, Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, Dr. Ben Carson and others. Deborah will be signing her third book, Daisy Bates: In Her Own Words, Monday July 13, 2009 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at The Javits Center, Manhattan, New York. This event is free and open to the public. www.naacpauthorpavilion.com.