Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The school was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. This was during the period of heightened activism in the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. Central is located at the intersection of Park Street and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (formerly 14th Street). Bates was an African-American journalist and state

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

president who played a key role in bringing about, through the 1957 crisis, the integration of the school. Central can trace its origins to 1869 when the Sherman School operated in a wooden structure at 8th and Sherman streets; it graduated its first class on June 13, 1873. In 1885 the Sherman School was moved to 14th and Scott streets and was named Scott Street School, but was more commonly called ''City High School.'' Five years later in 1890, the Peabody School was constructed at West Capitol and Gaines streets. It was named in honor of philanthropist

George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry go ...

from US$200,000 received via the

Peabody Education Fund The Peabody Education Fund was established by George Peabody in 1867, after the American Civil War, for the purpose of promoting "intellectual, moral, and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States" except schools fo ...

. In 1905, the city founded Little Rock High School at the intersection of 14th and Cumberland streets, and shuttered the Peabody and Scott Street schools to serve as the city's sole public high school. Until 1957, only white students were permitted to be enrolled. In 1927 at a cost of US$1.5 million, the city completed construction on the nation's largest and most expensive high school facility, which remains in use today. In 1953 with the construction of Hall High School, the school was renamed as Little Rock Central High School. It has since been listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and named as a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and National Historic Site. Central High School, which covers grades 9 through 12, had an enrollment of 2,476 in school year 2020-2021. It is in the

Little Rock School District The Little Rock School District is a school district in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is one of four public school districts in Pulaski County and encompasses of land nearly coterminous with the state's capital and largest city. In ...

, and serves sections of Little Rock and the entirety of

Cammack Village Cammack Village is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 768 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway metropolitan area. History Cammack Village is located on land originally ...

. Nancy Rousseau was appointed principal in 2002, and retained that position .

History

Early campus history

Built in 1927 at a cost of $1.5 million, Little Rock Senior High School was designed in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

; it was hailed as the most expensive, most beautiful, and largest high school in the nation. Statues of four figures over the front entrance represent ambition, personality, opportunity, and preparation. Its opening earned national publicity, with nearly 20,000 people attending the dedication ceremony. In 1953 it was renamed as Little Rock Central High School. At the time in Arkansas and other states across the South, public school educational facilities were legally racially segregated. In 1954 the US Supreme Court ruled in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'' that such segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, and encouraged the states to integrate their schools. Related historic events in the 1950s changed education at Central High School and throughout the United States.

Little Rock integration

LRCHS was the focal point of the

Little Rock Integration Crisis The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...

of 1957. Nine Black students, known as the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...

, were denied entrance to the school in defiance of the 1954

ruling ordering

integration Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration *Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology, ...

of public schools. This provoked a showdown between the Democrat

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Orval Faubus Orval Eugene Faubus ( ; January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1957, he refused to comply with a unanimous ...

and Republican

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

that gained international attention. On the morning of September 23, 1957, the nine Black high school students faced an angry

mob Mob or MOB may refer to: Behavioral phenomena * Crowd * Smart mob, a temporary self-structuring social organization, coordinated through telecommunication Crime and law enforcement * American Mafia, also known as the Mob * Irish Mob, a US crimin ...

of over 1,000 Whites in front of Central High School who were protesting the integration project. As the students were escorted inside by the Little Rock police, violence escalated, and they were removed from the school. The next day, Eisenhower ordered the 1,200-man 327th Airborne Battle Group of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

from

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...

, Kentucky, to escort the nine students into the school. By the same order, he federalized the entire 10,000-man Arkansas National Guard, in order to remove them from the control of Governor Faubus. At nearby Camp Robinson, a hastily organized Task Force 153rd Infantry drew guardsmen from units all over the state. Most of the Arkansas Guard was quickly demobilized, but the ad hoc Task Force 153rd Infantry assumed control at Thanksgiving when the 327th withdrew, and patrolled inside and outside the school for the remainder of the school year. As

Melba Pattillo Beals Melba Joy Patillo Beals (born December 7, 1941) is an American journalist and educator who was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who were the first to racially integrate Little Rock Central High School in Littl ...

, one of the nine students, wrote in her diary, "After three full days inside Central igh School I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought." This event, watched by the nation and world, was the site of the first important test for the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court's ''

'' decision of 1954. Many areas of the South pledged to resist this ruling. Arkansas' governor Orval Faubus questioned the authority of the federal court system and the validity of desegregation. The crisis at Little Rock's Central High School was the first fundamental test of the national resolve to enforce black civil rights in the face of

massive resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

during the years following the Brown decision. As to whether Eisenhower's specific actions to enforce integration violated the

Posse Comitatus Act The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (, original at ) signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes which limits the powers of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic p ...

, the Supreme Court, in ''

Cooper v. Aaron ''Cooper v. Aaron'', 358 U.S. 1 (1958), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which denied the school board of Little Rock, Arkansas, the right to delay racial desegregation for 30 months. On September 12, 1958, th ...

'' (1958), indirectly affirmed the legality of his conduct. It was never expressly reviewed. In 1958, federal Judge

Jesse Smith Henley Jesse Smith Henley (May 18, 1917 – October 18, 1997) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eas ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (in case citations, E.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeale ...

, stating that integration had "broken down under the pressure of public opinion," suspended operation of the federal integration order until the 1960-61 school term. The school board said that it had faced large fees and could not afford to hire security guards to keep the peace in school. LRCHS was listed on the

on August 19, 1977, and was designated as a

on May 20, 1982. The school continues to be used as an educational facility. In 2007, Central High School held an event for the 50th Anniversary of the Little Rock Nine entering Central. On September 24, 2007, a new museum was opened honoring the Little Rock Nine. That same year,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

produced a documentary film directed by the Renaud Brothers, ''Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later,'' which explored the significant changes and continuities within the school since its desegregation.

Teaching evolution

Little Rock Central High School made legal history again in 1968, in a case based on the teaching of evolution in the public schools. LRCHS biology teacher Susan Epperson agreed to be the plaintiff in a case challenging an Arkansas law forbidding the teaching of the theory of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

in the public schools. The United States Supreme Court's decision in ''

Epperson v. Arkansas ''Epperson v. Arkansas'', 393 U.S. 97 (1968), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that invalidated an Arkansas statute prohibiting the teaching of human evolution in the public schools. The Court held that the First Amendment to the Un ...

'' held that states could not require that "teaching and learning must be tailored to the principles or prohibitions of any religious sect or dogma," i.e., the teaching of evolution in schools could not be forbidden on religious grounds.

After integration

Today, the high school is minority-majority, with a minority enrollment of 67.7%. The racial breakdown of the school in 2021 was 52.7% Black, 32.3% White, 8.1% Asian, 5.5% Hispanic, and 0.9% two or more races.

Academics

The assumed course of study follows the Smart Core curriculum developed by the

Arkansas Department of Education Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

(ADE). For 2011–12, Central is in Whole School Improvement Year 4 in its work to reach

Adequate Yearly Progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing ac ...

(AYP) toward the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

. Central has an International Studies

Magnet Program In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

, an

EAST Initiative The EAST Initiative is an educational non-profit organization that oversees and trains for a school program, EAST, that operates primarily in the United States. The program began in 1995 in Arkansas. It offers students and teachers professional te ...

Lab Program, more than 30 service, academic, and honors clubs, award-winning instrumental and concert band and choral programs, and more than 141 courses offered, including 35 AP and Pre-AP courses and 5 foreign languages.

Publications

Its student publications include ''The Tiger'' (the student newspaper), ''The Pix'' (the school yearbook), which was originally named ''The Cage,'' and ''The Labyrinth'' (the school poetry and arts magazine).
''The Pix''
was inducted into the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association's Arkansas Yearbook Hall of Fame on April 16, 2010. The 2010–11 edition of the PIX received a Silver Medal from the

Columbia Scholastic Press Association The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) is an international student press association, founded in 1925, whose goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchang ...

.
''The Tiger''
is the official news publication of Little Rock Central High School and one of the oldest high school newspapers in the country. It is issued in the form of a quarterly mini-magazine that keeps students updated on issues around the school. The newspaper has won many Arkansas Scholastic Press Association awards. The periodical is known for covering difficult aspects of student life, including

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating d ...

s, drug use, and

academic dishonesty Academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, academic fraud and academic integrity are related concepts that refer to various actions on the part of students that go against the expected norms of a school, university or other learning institution. D ...

Awards and recognition

Central is a charter member and has been fully accredited by AdvancED since 1924. It has the oldest charter west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

in the

Cum Laude Society The Cum Laude Society is an organization that honors scholastic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which honors scholastic achievements at the university level. It was founded at The Tome School in 19 ...

. Central has had the most National Merit and National Achievement finalists in the state over the past 10 years with over $4 million in scholarships awarded during the 2006–07 school year. Central has had five

Presidential Scholars The United States Presidential Scholars Program is a program of the United States Department of Education. It is described as "one of the Nation's highest honors for students" in the United States, United States of America and the globe. The pr ...

in the last decade and had 256

AP Scholar The College Board offers several awards to selected students who take Advanced Placement (AP) exams. AP scholar designations Each year, the AP program recognizes students who have performed exceptionally well on AP examinations. Exams are taken ...

s in 2020–21. The school dominates at regional and state Science Fairs. It has the largest number of delegates to Boys' and Girls' State, the most participants in Governor's School Gifted and Talented Program, and has competed in chemistry

Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...

, Arkansas Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, mock trial, various mathematics competitions, and the SECME Olympiad. In addition, Central has had 55 Stephens' Award winners for academic achievement. The Drama and Competitive Speech program is competitive and became one of the charter chapters of the Arkansas district of the

National Forensic League The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high school ...

(speech and debate honor society). The school's choir programs has garnered several Best in Class awards at the annual Arkansas State Choral Festival administered by the Arkansas Choral Directors Association (ArkCDA). In addition, educated Andrew Goldberg. In 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013, the Little Rock Central Madrigals won Class 7A Best in Class for Mixed Ensemble and Overall Ensemble. Since 2007, Central has been ranked nationally within the top 275 high schools based on the

Challenge Index The Challenge Index is a method for the statistical ranking of top public and private high schools in the United States, created by ''The Washington Post'' columnist Jay Mathews. It is also the only statistical ranking system for both public and pri ...

developed by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. In ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

's'' June 13, 2010 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Little Rock Central High School was ranked 94th in the nation, after having been ranked 20th in the magazine's 2006 rankings. Little Rock Central High School won the

National Fed Challenge The National Fed Challenge is an academic competition that provides high school students (grades 9-12) with an insider's view of how the United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, makes monetary policy. The Fed Challenge begins with regional ...

competition in 2007 and again in 2008. In 2008, Central was the Quiz bowl division 7A state champion. Central High in Little Rock 11

The Little Rock Central Band and Flag Line were selected to participate in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade for Barack Obama.

Extracurricular activities

The Little Rock Central High School mascot for academic and athletic teams is the ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

,'' with

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

old gold Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow, generally on the darker side of this range. The first recorded use of ''old gold'' as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact ...

serving as the school colors. The school's fight song, "On, Tigers!" is based on "

On, Wisconsin! "On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A version with modified lyrics is the official state song of Wisconsin. "On, Wisconsin!" was also the cry that Arthur MacArthur Jr. used in the ...

Athletics

The Little Rock Tigers compete in numerous interscholastic activities in the state's largest classification (7A) in the 7A/6A East Conference for 2012–14, as administered by the

Arkansas Activities Association The Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) is the primary sanctioning body for high school sports in state of Arkansas. AAA is a member association of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA). Every public secondary sch ...

. The Tigers participate in baseball, basketball (boys/girls), bowling, competitive cheer, cross country, football, golf (boys/girls), soccer (boys/girls), softball, swimming & diving (boys/girls), tennis (boys/girls), track & field (boys/girls), volleyball, and wrestling. Little Rock Central holds numerous team and individual national and state titles and records including: * Football: 32 football state championship banners from 1907 through 2004 including the state's all-time win record. Since 1937, home football games are played at Quigley-Cox Stadium at Verizon Wireless Field, originally named for Earl Quigley, a coach for the Tigers from 1914 to 1935. The Tigers won the 1946 and 1957

High School Football National Championship The High School Football National Championship is a national championship honor awarded to the best high school football team(s) in the United States of America based on rankings from prep experts and analysts in the media, such as ''USA Today,'' an ...

. * Cross country: 22 boys' cross country state championships from 1955 through 1982; * Track and field: a national-record 50 track & field state championships (1908–1979) with an 18-year consecutive run of titles from 1926 through 1945, followed by a 10-year title winning streak between 1949 and 1958. Both streaks are listed in the national record books. * Basketball: the boys basketball teams have won 19 state titles between 1912 and 2020, including four consecutive banners (1944–47) and three overall state titles (1972, 1973, 1975); * Golf: The boys' golf team has won eight state titles between 1948 and 1982. * Soccer: The girls' soccer team won consecutive state titles in 2002 and 2003. * Swimming: The girls' swimming and diving team has won eight state titles since 1952. * Tennis: The tennis teams have won thirteen titles for the boys' team and seven titles for the girls' team.

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools

Elementary schools that feed into Little Rock Central include: *Booker *Brady *Carver *Forest Park *Fulbright *Gibbs *Jefferson *King *McDermott *Pulaski Heights *Rockefeller *Romine *Stephens *Terry *Washington *Woodruff

Middle schools

Middle schools include: * Cloverdale Magnet Middle School * Dunbar Magnet Middle School * Forest Heights Middle School * Henderson Health Sciences Magnet Middle School * Pulaski Heights Middle School Magnet-only schools that matriculate many students to Central include

Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School Horace Mann Arts and Sciences Magnet Middle School is a magnet middle school located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Little Rock School District. The school was named after educational reformer and Congressman Horace Mann ...

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

On November 6, 1998,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

established Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. The National Historic Site is administered in partnership with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, Little Rock Public Schools, the City of Little Rock, and others. The visitor center for the site is located diagonally across the street from the school and across from the memorial dedicated by Michael Warrick, and opened in fall 2006. It contains a captioned interpretive film on the Little Rock integration crisis, as well as multimedia exhibits on both that and the larger context of desegregation during the 20th century and the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. Opposite the visitor center to the west is the Central High Commemorative Garden, which features nine trees and benches that honor the students. Arches that represent the school's facade contain embedded photographs of the school in years since the crisis, and showcase students of various backgrounds in activities together. Opposite the visitor center to the south is a historic

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

, which has been preserved in its appearance at the time of the crisis. At the time, it served as the area for the press and radio and television reporters. It later served as a temporary visitor center before the new one was built. File:Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center.jpg, Visitor Center. Main building File:John King Jr. at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.jpg, U.S. Secretary of Education

John King Jr. John B. King Jr. (born January 5, 1975) is an American educator, civil servant, and former state and federal government official who is the 15th Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY). He previously served as President & CEO of Th ...

at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site in 2016

Notable alumni

The following are notable people associated with Little Rock High School / Little Rock Central High School. If the person was a Central High School student, the number in parentheses indicates the year of graduation; if the person was a faculty or staff member, that person's title and years of association are included

Academia and politics

(1958–60)—Eight of the nine original students of the 1957 Little Rock integration crisis. **

, one of the Little Rock Nine members * Charles J. Blake (c. 2001)— Democratic member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

for Pulaski County since 2015. *

Vivion Brewer Vivion Mercer Lenon Brewer (October 6, 1900 – June 18, 1991) was an American desegregationist, most notable for being a founding member of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) in 1958 during the desegregation of Central Hig ...

(1917)—Political activist and chairwoman of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools. * Brownie Ledbetter (1950)—Political activist and member of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools that lobbied for the re-opening of Little Rock Central High School during the Little Rock Integration Crisis. * Calvin Ledbetter, Jr. (1946)—Educator and politician; member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1967–1977). *

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American former political spokesperson and the governor-elect of Arkansas. She was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. She ...

(ca. 2000), former White House Press Secretary *

Clarke Tucker Everett Clarke Tucker IV (born January 20, 1981) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Central Arkansas. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, and currently serves in the Arkansas Senate since Janu ...

(1999)— Democratic member of the

for Pulaski County since 2015. *

Darrin Williams Darrin L. Williams is an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, Williams is a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 36. He was term-limited and ineligible t ...

—Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2009–15). *

Woodrow Wilson Mann Woodrow Wilson Mann (November 13, 1916 – August 6, 2002) was an American politician who was the mayor of the capital city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1956 to 1957. Biography A Little Rock native, Mann attended the University of Illinois and ...

(ca. 1935)—Mayor of Little Rock (1955–57). *

Mark Pryor Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is an American attorney, politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to becoming senator, he was Attorne ...

—

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

(2003–15).

Arts and entertainment

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

(1944)—Actress. *

Matt Besser Matthew Gregory Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer, best known as one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy ...

(1985)—Actor and comedian. * Dee Brown (ca. 1926)—Novelist and historian. *

Rodger Bumpass Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...

(1970)—Notable voice actor. *

Gail Davis Gail Davis (born Betty Jeanne Grayson; October 5, 1925 – March 15, 1997) was an American actress and singer, best known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television series ''Annie Oakley''. Life and career Early years The d ...

(ca. 1943)—TV and film actress, known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television Western series ''Annie Oakley''. * Dani Evans—Fashion model; winner of 2006 ''Next Top Model''. *

Brent Jennings Brent Jennings (born January 1, 1951) is an American actor. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and is a 1969 graduate of Little Rock Central High School. He played Oakland Athletics coach Ron Washington (later manager Management (or manag ...

(1969)—TV and film actor. *

Charlotte Moorman Madeline Charlotte Moorman (November 18, 1933 – November 8, 1991) was an American cellist, performance artist, and advocate for avant-garde music. Referred to as the "Jeanne d'Arc of new music", she was the founder of the Annual Avant Garde Fest ...

(1951)—Cellist and performance artist. *

George Newbern George Young Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the ABC show ''Scandal'' and Bryan MacKenzie in ''Father of the Bride'' (1991) and its sequels ''Father of the Bride Part II'' and '' Fath ...

(1982)—TV and film actor. *

Walter Norris Walter Norris (December 27, 1931 – October 29, 2011) was an American pianist and composer. Biography Early life and career Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 27, 1931, Norris first studied piano at home with his mother, then with J ...

(1950)—Pianist and composer. *

Ben Piazza Ben Piazza (July 30, 1933 – September 7, 1991) was an American actor. Life and career Piazza made his film debut in Sidney J. Furie's Canadian film ''A Dangerous Age'' (1959) followed by his Hollywood debut in '' The Hanging Tree'' (1959). T ...

(1951)—TV and film actor. * Jason White (1991)—Musician;

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

Guitarist. *

Clifton Williams Clifton Curtis Williams Jr. (September 26, 1932 – October 5, 1967), was an American naval aviator, test pilot, mechanical engineer, major in the United States Marine Corps, and NASA astronaut, who was killed in a plane crash; he never went in ...

(1941)—Composer of

symphonic band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

music *

Jeff Nichols Jeff Nichols (born December 7, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter from Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Nichols is most known for his films ''Take Shelter'' (20 ...

(1996)- Director, writer, and producer of '' Loving'', ''

Mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

'', and others.

Commerce and industry

James Smith McDonnell James Smith "Mac" McDonnell (April 9, 1899 – August 22, 1980) was an American aviator, engineer, and businessman. He was an aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas, and the James S. McDonnel ...

(1917)—Aviation pioneer and founder of

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...

. * Sanford N. McDonnell (1940)—Engineer, businessman and philanthropist; former chairman and CEO of

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...

Military

* John H. Yancey (ca.1937), highly decorated United States Marine

Sports

* Mike Beard (1968)—Former professional baseball player. *

Alvin Bell Alvin Euclid "Pep" Bell (October 1, 1901 – June 1968) was an American football and basketball player, who later was a football official for 36 years. Early years Alvin Bell was born October 1, 1901, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to William Eu ...

(1919)—Umpire; all-around high school and collegiate athlete; 1978 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame * Charles Clay (2006)- NFL player

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Walt Coleman Walt Coleman III (born January 16, 1952) is a former American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1989 season until the end of the 2018 season. He wore uniform number 65. During his final season in ...

(1970)—Football player (NFL); inductee,

Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is the hall of fame and museum for sports in Arkansas, United States. The hall of fame inducted its first class in 1959. The hall's museum is located on the west end of the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. ...

. * John Hoffman (1945)—NFL player (1949–1956); 1976 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame * Joe Johnson (1999)—

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

All Star and USA basketball player. *

Ken Kavanaugh Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for ...

(1936) - Player and coach in

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

; 3-time

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

champion for

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. *

Luis Peña (fighter) Luis Antonio Peña (born July 5, 1993) is an Italian-born American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2014, Peña competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), most notably being a contestant on The Ultima ...

(2012) - Mixed Martial Artist who has competed at Featherweight in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Danny Nutt Danny Nutt (born May 7, 1961) is a former college football assistant coach. He served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Player Development at Ole Miss during Houston Nutt's tenure as head coach. His last coaching position was with the Arkan ...

(1980)—Former assistant coach of collegiate football. *

Dennis Nutt Dennis Clay Nutt (born March 25, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the head basketball coach at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Career Nutt was a 6'2" (188 cm) and 170 lb (77 kg ...

(1981)—Men's basketball head coach of collegiate basketball: former professional player. *

Dickey Nutt Dickey Albert Nutt (born June 13, 1959) is an assistant coach for the University of Missouri men's basketball team. His most recent head coaching position was at Southeast Missouri State University before being let go after the 2014-15 season. Bo ...

(1977)—Men's basketball head coach of collegiate basketball. *

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University ( ...

(1976)—Former head coach of the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

Razorbacks and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

Rebels football teams *

Jack Robbins Jack William Robbins (January 23, 1916 – January 1983) was an American football halfback who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Cardinals. Robbins also played quarterback during his two years in the ...

(1933)—Football and basketball standout player, NFL player; 1974 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. *

Brooks Robinson Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally c ...

(1955)—Hall of Fame

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Drew Smyly Todd Andrew Smyly (born June 13, 1989), nicknamed "Big Shooter", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Ra ...

(2007)—Baseball player *

Reggie Swinton Reginald "Reggie" Terrell Swinton (born August 24, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals. He played college footb ...

(1993)—Former football player. * Harry Vines (1957)—Wheelchair basketball coach. * Fred Williams (1978)—Four-time

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

defense lineman. *

Kahlil Carter Kahlil Rafiq Carter, (born September 13, 1976) is a former professional gridiron football player and coach. College football From 1994 to 1997, Carter walked-on to the University of Arkansas' football team along with Brandon Burlsworth who in ...

(1994)—Former professional football player.

References

External links

*
National Park Service: Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
{{authority control 1905 establishments in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1905 Gothic Revival architecture in Arkansas High schools in Little Rock, Arkansas School segregation in the United States Central High School, Central High School Magnet schools in Arkansas National Historic Landmarks in Arkansas National Historic Sites in Arkansas Public high schools in Arkansas School buildings completed in 1927 Central High School Civil rights movement museums National Register of Historic Places in Little Rock, Arkansas Historic district contributing properties in Arkansas African-American history in Little Rock, Arkansas