Nine from Little Rock
1964
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This film follows the students – Melba Patillo, Carlotta Walls, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray, Minnijean Brown, Thelma Mothershed, Ernest Green, Jefferson Thomas, and Terrence Roberts – who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. It focuses on their dreams and aspirations for the future.
The film was commissioned by George Stevens, Jr., head of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), and directed by Charles Guggenheim. The USIA's goal for the film, as outlined in a transmittal memo dated September 1, 1964, was to demonstrate "America’s commitment to freedom of the individual and justice under law," and to document "the role of the Federal government in upholding the law protecting minorities, following the Supreme Court decree declaring racial segregation in public school education to be unconstitutional." The USIA’s specific target audiences for Nine From Little Rock were international youth programs and universities that followed race concerns in the United States. The film was screened in nearly 100 cities outside of North America.
It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short on April 5th, 1965.
The film was commissioned by George Stevens, Jr., head of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), and directed by Charles Guggenheim. The USIA's goal for the film, as outlined in a transmittal memo dated September 1, 1964, was to demonstrate "America’s commitment to freedom of the individual and justice under law," and to document "the role of the Federal government in upholding the law protecting minorities, following the Supreme Court decree declaring racial segregation in public school education to be unconstitutional." The USIA’s specific target audiences for Nine From Little Rock were international youth programs and universities that followed race concerns in the United States. The film was screened in nearly 100 cities outside of North America.
It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short on April 5th, 1965.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Information Agency.
National Archives Identifier: 51380
Full Citation: Motion Picture 306.5160; Nine from Little Rock; 1964; Moving Images Relating to U.S. Domestic and International Activities , 1982 - 1999; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/nine-from-little-rock, December 4, 2024]Rights: Copyright Not Evaluated Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
