Little Rock

Extract 1:-
Few pictures capture an epoch. But in the contorted, hate-filled face of a young white girl named Hazel Bryan standing behind Elizabeth, screaming epithets at her, Counts encapsulated the rage of the Jim Crow South. And even behind her large sunglasses—her eyes were as sensitive as the rest of her—Elizabeth embodied something else: the dignity, and determination, and wisdom, and stoicism, with which black Americans tried to change their lot.


Extract 2:-
"This little girl, this tender little thing, walking with this whole mob baying at her like a pack of wolves" was how Benjamin Fine later described the scene. Once she reached the bus stop, Elizabeth sat herself down at the edge of the empty bench, as if not wanting to take up too much space. "Drag her over to this tree!" someone shouted.

I have always been in awe of the American Civil Rights Campaign, not because of what was achieved but how and with what it was achieved. In the 1950s most of the African-American population were till living in miserable ,segregated areas working in low paying jobs.

They were oppressed, the Jim-Crow laws legalized discrimination, denied the right to vote, had no colleges, poor schools for their kids, abused in their faces, terrorised by the Ku-Klux Clan and other white supremacist groups AND STILL THEY DARED TO HOPE.

They demanded equality and they fought for it -peacefully. The struggle was hard but segregation ended.

But the story gas still not ended. Discrimination still exists, the black population in America is still marginalized.

YET THE DOORS OF OPPURTUNITY ARE WIDE OPEN.

There is a lesson here for the world today especially the Islamic world. Stop whining about being discriminated. CREATE INTELLECTUALS. Educate each and every child so he has the courage to fight rather than just blame others.

final extract:
"It doesn't matter whether your teacher likes you or not; study for yourselves. Even a shy person can develop steel. And if you reach out to someone being harassed, you can save his life."


Read the full story here.