Difficult Decisions: The Little Rock 9 (Evenings at Ease)

The 2023 annual program theme is Difficult Decisions. Join us all year for a deep dive into the challenges faced during the Eisenhower era. 

Abilene, Kan. - The public is invited to attend the June Evenings at Ease lecture scheduled for Tuesday, June 13 at 7 p.m. central time either in person or online. The in-person component of the program will be held in the library building courtyard at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. The virtual audience may stream the program live on our YouTube channel.

Guest speaker Dr. John Kirk will join us virtually to discuss what motivated the nine teenagers known as the Little Rock Nine. They were the central figures in the 1957 school desegregation crisis at Little Rock's Central High. This group of nine students faced a number of difficult decisions. They actively decided to not only attend a historically white school but to stay despite intimidation both inside and outside of the school. Their decision forced the federal courts and President Eisenhower to make decisions and take action in response.

Dr. John A. Kirk is the George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is an expert on the civil rights movement and has published 10 books. His works include Beyond Little Rock: The Origins and Legacies of the Central High Crisis and The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader.

The 2023 program series is made possible courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation with generous support from the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation.