Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools
Encyclopedia
The Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) was an organization
formed by a group of socially prominent white women in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas
during the Little Rock Crisis in 1958.
The organization advocated for the integration
of the public school system and was a major obstacle to Governor Orval Faubus
's efforts to prevent racial integration. The women spoke out in favor of a special election to remove segregationist
s from the Little Rock school board.
The organization was co-founded by Adolphine Fletcher Terry
, Vivion Brewer, and Velma Powell.
Adapted from the article Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
.
Documentary Film:
Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools, by Sandra Hubbard, 1998. Morning Star Studio, 2701 Kavanaugh Boulevard, Suite 205, Little Rock, AR 72205
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
formed by a group of socially prominent white women in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
during the Little Rock Crisis in 1958.
The organization advocated for the integration
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
of the public school system and was a major obstacle to Governor Orval Faubus
Orval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
's efforts to prevent racial integration. The women spoke out in favor of a special election to remove segregationist
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
s from the Little Rock school board.
The organization was co-founded by Adolphine Fletcher Terry
Adolphine Fletcher Terry
Adolphine Fletcher Terry, , was an American political and social activist in the state of Arkansas. She was primarily responsible for reopening the Little Rock, Arkansas public school system and bringing to a close the Little Rock Crisis of 1958....
, Vivion Brewer, and Velma Powell.
Books
- Breaking the Silence: The Little Rock Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools, 1958–1963, by Sara Murphy, 1997, (ISBN 1-55728-456-3)
Adapted from the article Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
GNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
.
Documentary Film:
Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools, by Sandra Hubbard, 1998. Morning Star Studio, 2701 Kavanaugh Boulevard, Suite 205, Little Rock, AR 72205