Testament: The Monument to the Little Rock Nine, Little Rock, Przewodnik dla zwiedzających i co robić w okolicy

Testament: The Monument to the Little Rock Nine stands on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock. It honors the nine Black students who integrated Central High School in 1957, one of the defining moments of the American civil rights movement. The bronze sculpture by John Deering was dedicated in 2005.

The story behind it

In 1954 the US Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. Three years later, nine Black teenagers were chosen to enrol at Little Rock Central High School, an all-white school. They became known as the Little Rock Nine: Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed and Melba Pattillo Beals.

Governor Orval Faubus sent the Arkansas National Guard to keep the students out on the first day of term. After weeks of tension and angry crowds, President Eisenhower federalized the Guard and sent soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students into the building. Ernest Green graduated in 1958 as the school's first Black graduate. The monument sits at the Capitol, the seat of the state government that tried to stop them, which gives the place extra weight.

What to look for

• The nine separate figures, one for each student, each worth a slow look as an individual rather than a group.
• The names of the students, which the memorial sets down so you can connect each person to the story above.
• The Capitol building behind the sculpture, which frames the monument and reminds you of the political side of the 1957 crisis.
• The wider Capitol grounds, where other memorials and statues sit close together and show how Arkansas chooses to remember its past.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 30 minutes to read the inscriptions and walk around the figures, longer if you also explore the Capitol grounds.
• The monument is outdoors, so morning or late afternoon light is pleasant, especially in the warm months.
• The Capitol building is right beside it. Check current opening hours and visitor rules if you want to go inside.
• Little Rock Central High School, where the events took place, is a short drive away and pairs naturally with this stop.

See it on a quest

Playing Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Little Rock is a good way to take in this monument and the streets around it. You walk to it as one stop on a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. There is no guide to follow and no group to join, and one ticket covers your whole group.