LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – On Tuesday, Aug. 23, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will tour Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and hold a roundtable discussion with stakeholders on the importance of preserving America’s history, including the struggle for civil rights, and how national parks act as economic engines for local communities. Jewell and Foxx will also meet with original members of the Little Rock Nine.
The visit is part of Secretary Jewell’s ongoing nationwide tour commemorating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
Little Rock Central High School is recognized for its pivotal role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States after nine African-American students sought an education at the all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The persistence of these civil rights activists was the most prominent national example of the implementation of the May 17, 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education to end segregation in public schools. In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed legislation designating the school and visitor center across the street as a National Historic Site – the only operating high school in the nation to receive such a designation.
Who:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Anthony Foxx, U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Mark Stodola, Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas
Robin White, Superintendent, Little Rock High School NHS
Vanessa Norton Mckuin, Executive Director, Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas
Michael Poore, Superintendent, Little Rock School District
Nancy Rousseau, Principal, Little Rock Central High School
Gretchen Hall, President and CEO, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau
What:
Tour of visitor center exhibits and Little Rock Central High School
When:
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016
1:15 p.m. CDT – Media check-in
1:30 p.m. CDT – Tour followed by a brief media availability
Where:
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
2120 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Dr.
Little Rock, AR 72202
Media:
Credentialed members of the media are encouraged to RSVP here.
Source: Department of Interior
