Meet American Hero Daisy Bates on Independent Lens February 2
Independent Lens kicks off Black History Month with a profile of a hero that was both black and female at a time when neither of those things accounted for much. Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock recounts the role Daisy Bates played in the desegregation drama that unfolded in 1957 Little Rock, Arkansas. It premieres on Independent Lens (PBS), Thursday, February 2, 2012, at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern; check local listings).
Filmmaker Sharon La Cruise spent seven years researching the story of Bates, a nearly-forgotten civil rights leader who stepped into the spotlight when Little Rock refused to integrate its public schools. Her quest for justice may have been preordained by racial inequality that affected her from her earliest days. When Bates was 8 years old she learned that the people who raised her were not her parents; her mother had been raped and murdered by white men who then threw her body into a pond. In fear, her father dropped her off with friends and was never again seen.
A beautiful young woman, Bates was articulate and willing to take on a challenge that few others would approach. Bates turned national attention to the issue of civil rights when she fought for the rights of black students to attend Little Rock’s all-white Central High. It earned her rocks thrown through her windows and a brief stay in the spotlight.
Segregationists got their revenge by destroying Daisy and L.C. Bates’ business, the Arkansas State Press which was forced into bankruptcy. Years later, after the death of L.C., Daisy Bates would resurrect the paper.
Daisy Bates is the reason we need a Black History Month (and other ethnically-designated times of learning). Daisy Bates was a moving force in American history, yet she wasn’t in any of my history books, and her name was never mentioned in my history classes. How about yours?
Watch Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock and learn about her pivotal role in the civil rights movement and its effect on her life. Participants include a member of the “Little Rock Nine” (the first black students to attend Little Rock High School), sociologists, writers, educators, historians, and Bates’ associates.
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