Little Rock Nine

John and Kathy Deering sculptors
The location is heavy with meaning. The nine statues stand outside the governor’s office, where in 1957 Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent black schoolchildren from attending previously all-white Central High following a 1954 Supreme Court ruling. When the nine entered, they were under the armed guard of federalized troops.–Houston Chronicle
Ernest Green (b. 1941), Elizabeth Eckford (b. 1941), Jefferson Thomas (1942–2010), Terrence Roberts (b. 1941), Carlotta Walls LaNier (b. 1942), Minnijean Brown (b. 1941), Gloria Ray Karlmark (b. 1942), Thelma Mothershed (b. 1940), and Melba Pattillo Beals (b. 1941). Ernest Green was the first African American to graduate from Central High School.–Wikipedia