'Testament: The Little Rock Nine Monument,' Little Rock, Arkansas
© Rex Lisman/Getty Image
Courage and conviction. Black History Month
They were just high school kids, named Ernest, Elizabeth, Jefferson, Terrence, Carlotta, Minnijean, Gloria, Thelma, and Melba, who made history in 1957 when they became the first Black pupils at their school, in the face of fierce opposition. We start Black History Month here in Little Rock, the state capital of Arkansas, at the Little Rock Nine Monument, named for that group of kids who played an important role in desegregating public schools. Their contributions to the civil rights movement are a moving reminder of how far we've come as a nation, and of how very different life was for Black Americans not so long ago.
Related Images
Policewomen from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti attend a ceremony to mark International Women's Day in 2016
Jim Henson, along with Ernie and Bert, rehearses for an episode of 'Sesame Street' in 1970 in New York City
A Diego Rivera painting to celebrate Labor Day
At the top of Mount Fuji in Japan
The installation 'Waldplastik' during Blue Night in Nuremberg, German
Street art from the Pasadena Chalk Festival 2013, California
Louis Armstrong performs with bandmates in Vienna, Austria, on February 22, 1959
For Black History Month, Step Afrika! dancers rehearse
Bing Today Images
US Army nurses arrive in Greenock, Scotland, 1944
Feb 01, 2026
The 369th Infantry returns to New York City, 1919
Feb 01, 2022
Stuben am Arlberg, Austria
Feb 01, 2018
