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 O ...
,
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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The school was the
site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the
U.S. Supreme Court 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, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
.
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.&n ...
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 from US$200,000 received via the
Peabody Education Fund. 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 ...
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 liste ...
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. 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'' 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 of 1957. Nine Black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were denied entrance to the school in defiance of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering integration 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 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 ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower that gained international attention.
On the morning of September 23, 1957, the nine Black high school students faced an angry mob 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's 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, 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 Litt ...
, 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 '' Brown v. Board of Education'' 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 ...
during the years following the Brown decision. As to whether Eisenhower's specific actions to enforce integration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, the Supreme Court, in '' Cooper v. Aaron'' (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, 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 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 ...
on August 19, 1977, and was designated as a 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 liste ...
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 produced a documentary film directed by the Renaud Brothers
Brent Anthony Renaud (October 2, 1971 – March 13, 2022) was an American journalist, documentary filmmaker, and photojournalist. Renaud worked with his brother Craig to produce films for outlets such as HBO and Vice News, and was a former con ...
, ''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 ...
by 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. Cha ...
in the public schools. The United States Supreme Court's decision in '' Epperson v. Arkansas'' 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 Osa ...
(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 ...
(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 educati ...
.
Central has an International Studies Magnet Program, 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 ...
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 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.
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 List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
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 190 ...
.
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 in the last decade and had 256 AP Scholars 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, 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 (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 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 n ...
''. 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 competition in 2007 and again in 2008.
In 2008, Central was the Quiz bowl division 7A state champion.
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 Felidae, 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 pr ...
,'' 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 ha ...
and old gold 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 t ...
."
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 s ...
. 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.
* 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
Dunbar Gifted & Talented Education International Studies Magnet Middle School is a magnet middle school for students in grades 6 through 8 located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Dunbar Magnet Middle School is administered by the Littl ...
* Forest Heights Middle School
*Henderson Health Sciences Magnet Middle School
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.
...
* 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 ...
.
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 ...
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 properti ...
, 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, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
.
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.
Gasolin ...
, 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. 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
* Little Rock Nine (1958–60)—Eight of the nine original students of the 1957 Little Rock integration crisis.
** 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 Litt ...
, 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 (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.
Calvin Reville "Cal" Ledbetter Jr. (April 29, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American educator and politician.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, he graduated from Little Rock Central High School. He then received his bachelor's degree from the ...
(1946)—Educator and politician; member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1967–1977).
* Sarah Huckabee Sanders (ca. 2000), former White House Press Secretary
* Clarke Tucker (1999)— 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.
* Darrin Williams—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—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 power ...
, 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 O ...
(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 (1985)—Actor and comedian.
* Dee Brown (ca. 1926)—Novelist and historian.
* Rodger Bumpass (1970)—Notable voice actor.
* Gail Davis (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 (1969)—TV and film actor.
* Charlotte Moorman (1951)—Cellist and performance artist.
* George Newbern (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). Th ...
(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 ...
Guitarist.
* Clifton Williams (1941)—Composer of symphonic band 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'' (2 ...
(1996)- Director, writer, and producer of ''Loving
Loving may refer to:
* Love, a range of human emotions
* Loving (surname)
* ''Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case
Film and television
* Loving (1970 film), ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American fi ...
'', '' Mud'', and others.
Commerce and industry
* James Smith McDonnell (1917)—Aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.
* Sanford N. McDonnell
Sanford "Sandy" Noyes McDonnell (October 12, 1922 – March 19, 2012) was an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist. Former chairman and chief executive officer of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, he also served as national president ...
(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 ...
.
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 (1970)—Football player (NFL); inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
* John Hoffman (1945)—NFL player (1949–1956); 1976 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
* Joe Johnson (1999)— NBA All Star and USA basketball player.
* Ken Kavanaugh (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 vo ...
; 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 majo ...
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 ...
.
* 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 Arkans ...
(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 k ...
(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. Bor ...
(1977)—Men's basketball head coach of collegiate basketball.
* Houston Nutt (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 Arkans ...
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 (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 co ...
(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 u ...
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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
* Drew Smyly (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 foot ...
(1993)—Former football player.
* Harry Vines Harry Doyle Vines (September 12, 1938 – February 11, 2006) was a prominent member of the wheelchair basketball community, winning national and international championships. Born in Caldwell, Arkansas and later residing in Sherwood, Arkansas, he se ...
(1957)—Wheelchair basketball coach.
* Fred Williams (1978)—Four-time NFL 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 (1994)—Former professional football player.
References
Further reading
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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