The long shadow of Little Rock,: A memoir

by Daisy Bates

For many Americans, until recently, knowledge about Arkansas has been limited to one of the state's moments of the Central High School desegregation crisis in Little Rock in 1957. In this memoir, Daisy Bates recounts the confrontation as only a journalist hardened and polished by years of struggle in the civil rights movement could tell it.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Race, African American, Politics

234 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1987

About the author

Not to be confused with the Australian Daisy Bates.

Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was an American civil rights activist, publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957.

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Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an eye-opening book for me. I hope to read more about this subject. I am proud though that my Dad was one of the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division who were sent to Little Rock to protect Little Rock Nine.

[Kingslee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your high school history class likely covered the Little Rock Nine briefly but to sit with Daisy Bates’s memoir and to read of the extreme brutality and hate of the white citizens of Little Rock…
My heart continually broke while reading. To think that this was only in 1957. Those 9 kids risked their lives to go to school. Anyone who spoke up or aided them risked their lives. How important it is to not let fear determine our decisions but how hard it is to swim against the current. How dangerous it is to view a human being as “other”
This should be required reading in Little Rock and all of Arkansas.

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing memoir of an incredibly strong group of people and the major civil rights battle of Little Rock. The absolutely mind blowing strength of character the intergrationists displayed is one that should humble you and inspire you to be open minded and kind when it comes to others.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How long? How long?" Daisy Bates questions. How long will racial inequality last in the United States? Mrs. Bates has since passed, but in 2012 evidence that this country still has miles to go remains.
This story of the Little Rock Nine compliments other memoirs, notably that of Melba Patillo Beals, and is told from the perspective of an adult woman experiencing the persecution of the forced integration of Central High School.
I really enjoyed the explanation of each student as well as the unabashed, tell it like it is style of writing.
"In the great struggle of the colored peoples of the world for equality and independence - the struggle that is one of the truly crucial events of the twentieth century - the episode of the children in Little Rock is a landmark of historic significance".
For the world today it seems Mrs. Bates' question is still a legitimate one, that must be answered if this country truly ever wants to be the promised land.
Very well written, very personal and real. Highly recommend.

[Lois Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read this year.

Published in 1962, The Long Shadow chronicles the integration of Little Rock's all-white high school. The narrative is riveting, and the detail appalling.

What resonates so strongly in 2018 is that Daisy Bates wrote this memoir in the midst of the struggle for civil rights. She didn't know which way the citizens of the United States were going to go. Whether they would honor the founding principal that all people are created equal, and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Or whether Americans would abandon the principles on which this country was built and strengthen the hatred and bigotry that is an undying fungus in so many American hearts.

There has been profound progress since 1962, but reading this is a reminder that, in many horrifying ways, not that much has changed.

[Quasar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading this as background research for a graduate school paper, and kept getting sucked in by the story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone studying the Brown v. Board decision, the Little Rock crisis, or just the Civil Rights movement or the NAACP in the 1950s. She tells the story with an excellent narrative voice and I was constantly left short of breath, thick tears in my throat. I think it made it all the stronger for me that I read it right after I read Virgil Blossom's memoir "It HAS happened here" about the same time in Little Rock history. The distinctly different perspectives between the white Superintendent of Schools and the black state president of the NAACP would make an excellent basis for a unit in middle or high school.

[Nandi Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago and really enjoyed it. Because of an upcoming event at my local library, I got a digital copy of her book and now it's in my hands. What kind of crushed me is her way of watching that man who had a hand in killing her mother. That was compelling. I liked to feel that God put them on the path of each other for a reason. So this man can see what he's caused, and she can face her mother's killer. But finding out about that did something inside her that just turned ugly for her a child. No child should have to hear about such a thing. But it prepared her for what she had to endure later on I feel. Darn good bio. sorry it is out of print but google got it in e-reader form.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful book. Mrs. Bates describes her life with honest facts that shed light on the not so subtle reality of Jim Crow. She does not try to manipulate the reader. As a native of Little Rock, I found the book to be historically significant and even though it was written in the 60s, I would recommend it to anyone as a way to better understand the daily steps that we can all take to improve civility for all mankind.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really admire Daisy Bates for her courageous life and her contribution to civil rights progress in the early part of the movement. Her story as recounted in this book is compelling if a bit precious in parts. An incredible story nonetheless.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this memoir and then think hard about racism in today's world.

[Donna Wessel Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and devastating record of the struggle to integrate Central HS in Little Rock

[avery 𓂃˖ ࣪⊹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes I did read this for a class…. BUT I READ THE WHOLE THING IN 3 DAYS 👏

very powerful story - great for an Arkansas History lover!

[Rachel Hendrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing Civil Rights memoir that demonstrates incredible courage and insight into race relations in the 1950s South. You know that is going to be good when Elenore Roosevelt writes the original foreword!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to put the book down at least ten times just to take in the events that happen in this story, so shocking is the book. I am in awe of this woman's strength and courage to improve education for American citizens. She needs more schools, more highways, and more libraries named after her.

I have wanted to read this book ever since visiting the Central High School historic site in Little Rock, Arkansas. Not only is this an astounding memoir of freedom struggle, it is an extraordinary read about bad political leadership and how it can tear apart a community. The events in this book still impact the community of Little Rock to this day, sixty years later.

Arkansas has worked hard to heal this, designating President's Day also #DaisyBates day, and naming an elementary school after her. President Clinton called her the most distinguished citizen of Arkansas of all time and posthumously awarded her the Congressional Gold Medal.

I can not recommend this book enough as a book club or individual read. This book would astonish any American reader into asking, 'and just what have we, the American people, accomplished in the meantime on integration?'

Say her name: #DaisyBates!

[Kay Hommedieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the content (was good) of the history of the Little Rock Nine of whom Mrs. Bates was the advisor and daily chaperone whom the nine studied with each day, the writing of Mrs. Bates could have used more polish. This short book was lagging in several places. The best part of the content was Mrs. Bates' description of each of the students and how they were able to withstand the disgrace of attending an all white school, both teachers and students.
2/2/2018

[Rachele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for my class The Turbulent 1960s, and I thought it was a harrowing, gripping, well-written memoir. I gasped out loud several times during reading.

Reading specifically as the story talks about the LR9 and their experiences when they finally get into classes just wowed me.

Although I'm giving this 3 stars, it was a very good memoir, but I just liked it, didn't love it because it was dry and drug out at times!

[Megan Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s more important than ever to learn about people like Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine. Her memoir is poignant and personal, and humanizes the children who endured years of abuse all for the honorable pursuit of desegregation. It helps me to put in perspective what the work is, what has been done, and how much we still have left to do, as well as the temerity and honesty needed to achieve it.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and powerful. Interesting to read a different perspective (an adult helping) on the Little Rock High School integration in 1957, in Arkansas, USA, comparing it to A Mighty Long Way and Warriors Don’t Cry written by two of the students. While the writing isn’t that complex, the subject matter is compelling and inspiring.

[Karan Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written memoir about Daisy Bates and her role in the desegregation crisis in Little Rock. Much respect and admiration for Mrs. Bates and all those who risked a tremendous amount in seeing that a quality education should be the right of everyone, regardless of skin color. This book should be a part of Arkansas history curriculum in every public school in the state.

[Aleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible but heartbreaking story. I was assigned to read this for my Arkansas history class and I am so glad that they did. It is good to know and learn. Terrance Roberts actually came to my college last month but I was unable to make it to the event. I really wish I would have been able to go. It would have been so interesting. 10/10 good book. Really makes you think.

[Raechel Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daisy Bates provided an on the ground report of the happenings in Little Rock concerning the integration of Central High School, through expert level storytelling.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating look at what happened during the 1957 Little Rock high school integration.

[Janene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago I read Warriors Don't Cry, written by one of the Little Rock Nine. I wanted to know more so I shelved this title, written by Daisy Bates, an adult on the front lines during the battle for integration - center stage being Little Rock Arkansas in the late 1950's.

Daisy felt a lot of hatred and bitterness in her growing up years because of what she witnessed and felt in the treatment of her people. Her father had some important council for her at the end of his life, these words became a transformative crossroads for her: "You're filled with hatred. Hate can destroy you, Daisy. Don't hate white people just because they're white. If you hate, make it count for something. Hate the humiliations we are living under in the South. Hate the discrimination that eats away at the soul of every black man and woman. Hate the insults hurled at us by white scum -- and then try to do something about it, or your hate won't spell a thing." (29)

Daisy grew up and made it spell something. She was a prominent leader within the NAACP. She and her husband successfully ran a local newspaper, the Arkansas State Press. For the nine students and their families, navigating the difficulties and unknowns of the tumultuous journey of school desegregation, I'm thinking Daisy was their person. The person they would check in with, their in-between for the lawyers, the school board, law enforcement, sometimes the public. The person they could share their trauma with and also ask, "what should we do now?"

I'm done learning about this, at least for now, also I will never forget it.

Some passages I flagged:

An account of a black WWII veteran in 1946:

"Being home isn't as pleasant as I had thought," said the captain. "For the past four years, while in the Army, I was treated as a man. I was judged and respected on the basis of character and ability, not color. Today I walked into a man's store on Main Street and was greeted with, 'what do you want, boy?' I looked at the clerk, turned and walked out. After leaving the store, I passed a restaurant. Hungry and angry, without thinking, I entered. As I approached a table, I suddenly became aware of a screaming silence prevailing in the room. I stood at the table with my hand on a chair. As I looked around the room, the cold raw hatred that I saw in the eyes of the waitresses and customers stabbed more deadly and with greater pain than the fragments of the shell that injured my leg in Germany. I stood there for a moment, looking at their faces distorted with hate, thinking of the tribute America paid to dead heroes, black and white, and I said, 'Pardon me,' and walked out." My heart went out to this young man, slumped in the chair opposite my desk. His colorful war decorations were pinned on his chest, and silver bars on his shoulders glistened in the overhead light. "I'm leaving the South," he ended resignedly. "There must be some place in America where a Negro can be a man." (44-5)

"Are you sorry," someone asked him, "that the President sent the troops?" "No," said Ernest. "I'm only sorry it had to be that way." (Ernest Green, one of the Central High students) (106)

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it." -Judge Learned Hand

Daisy also shares accounts of whites who supported the integration, were tormented, their own friends turned on them, ran them out of business. The community they had sacrificed and worked to build was so tortuous they packed up and left. Eventually many lost everything, even lives taken by their own hands. ....

"All of these white Southerners came face to face with the agonizing fact that the same system they had supported all these years -- the same system that had been used to deny Negroes their rights -- was now being used against them. Those who dared speak up became pariahs. They were fired from their jobs, put out of business, ostracized by their friends, driven from town. And three met with death." (181)

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daisy Bates' book about her experiences growing up in a segregated south, racism and tragedy marking her from a young age, and how that spurred her into becoming the leader she turned into is a must for anyone trying to understand not only the crisis of 1957 in Little Rock, but also one of the most famous civil rights leaders of the time.
I do wonder if some of her comments about how the kids were all doing just fine, after being subjected to what they endured, was just a bit of sugar coating it. After reading Elizabeth and Hazel and learning all about Elizabeth Eckford's life long struggle with mental illness, it is clear that she struggled and suffered tremendously. The children seemed like they were excellent actors, able to put up a front so that the adults around them couldn't figure out how much they were suffering.
I did appreciate this book and it's point of view about what was going on in the lives of the adults involved, that had not been discussed at length in any of the other books I've read so far about the subject.

[Sue Gosland]

This was a fascinating look at a piece of US history I was not as informed about as I thought. It was amazing to be able to read and experience what the children, and the adults around them, actually went through. This was written in 1962, not too many years after the events that she wrote about occurred, so there isn't a lot of time to see the impact of what happened on the United States in regard to race relations. While it may appear there has been a lot of improvement in these areas, it is also sad to realize there is still a lot of work to do.

I really enjoyed this book. It should be required reading in schools.

[Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leader of the historic Little Rock school desegregation battle

First person detailed account from the leader of the desegregation of Little Rock's Central High in 1957 and the struggle that followed.

Daisy Bates chronicles her childhood in a mill town in southern Arkansas including the racist rape and murder of her mother, that she was too young to remember. Explains how her early experiences steeled her to become a national leader. Then goes on to describe the Little Rock events with a level of detail, empathy, and insight only she could bring.

[Jason Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I currently live in Little Rock, a lifelong resident of the state. Somehow this history escaped me. I’m shocked, horrified by everything that took place, the mobs, the bombings, the hate. If there is one thing our latest election has taught me, it is that while we have made some progress, there is still much work to be done.

I appreciate the work of Mrs. Bates and so many others. May we pick up their work for all Americans and immigrants.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Daisy Bates's The Long Shadow of Little Rock, and I am convinced it should be required reading for every high school student in the USA. This book isn't just a historical account; it's a powerful, first-hand look at the fight for desegregation and the incredible courage of the Little Rock Nine. Bates's story reminds us of the resilience it took to stand up against injustice. It's a vital piece of our national history that's more relevant than ever.

[Jessica Vandergrift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, but not what I was expecting. I was hoping more details would be given in regards of how she cordinated the integration. Good read and nice to compare her account with Melba Patillo Beal's Warriors Don't Cry account.