Expulsion Appeal Letter to Little Rock School Board, February 17, 1958
date: label: date made
content: 1958-02-17
name: label: Associated Name
content: Little Rock Nine
label: recipient
content: Little Rock School District
label: Associated Name
content: Trickey, Minnijean Brown
notes: label: Description
content: Throughout the 1957–58 academic year, the Little Rock Nine were frequently harassed at school, both verbally and physically, but it was Minnijean Brown who received a suspension notice from the Little Rock Public School administration on February 6, 1958, for attempting to resist the daily torment. During an argument with a fellow classmate, Brown had called the girl “white trash,” after which the student threw her large purse at Brown. School administrators expelled Brown; the white student went unpunished.
label: Description
content: The school system claimed the expulsion was warranted, as she’d been given a warning to resist retaliation for any bullying after receiving a six-day suspension in December for dumping a bowl of chili on an abusive white male student. Brown’s parents appealed the suspension with a letter to the school board, stating that the repeated attacks against Minnijean represented a concentrated effort to have her expelled, and that she had to defend herself because school officials hadn’t intervened. The appeal was unsuccessful. However, this resulted in Minnijean's move to New York City where she flourished under the guardianship of renowned educational psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark, and graduated on time at New Lincoln High School. Her classmates were not as fortunate as many lost the following year of schooling while the Little Rock Schools were closed to further debate the process of integrating their school system.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Arkansas, Little Rock
label: Associated Place
content: United States: Arkansas, Little Rock, Little Rock Central High School
label: Associated Place
content: United States: Arkansas, Little Rock
topic: label: Subject
content: School Discipline
label: general subject association
content: Civil Rights Movement
label: general subject association
content: Education
label: related event
content: Little Rock Integration Crisis
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Minnijean Brown Trickey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2015.0238.06
label: accession number
content: 2015.0238
label: catalog number
content: 2015.0238.06
objectType: label: Object Name
content: letter
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 25.1 cm x 18.7 cm; 9 7/8 in x 7 3/8 in