Honoring Daisy Bates’ Warrior Spirit

Arkansans paid tribute to a civil rights icon today, celebrating Daisy Bates Day. Bates is the symbol of dignified resistance to racism. She helped guide the Little Rock Nine during the Central High Crisis of 1957, using her home as a meeting place for the teenagers.

The Superintendent of the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, Robin White, said “As we commemorate Daisy Bates, it’s important to reflect upon her ideal of servant in pursuance of equality and garnering education on behalf of the Little Rock Nine and others.”

White attended a luncheon hosted by the Ministerial Alliance in honor of Bates. “We cannot forget her courage as a learned woman to address the United States Constitution to right civil wrongs,” White added.

Bates and her husband, L.C., owned the newspaper, Arkansas State Press, a vocal supporter of school integration. She also served as the President of the Arkansas Conference of NAACP Branches. Her involvement made Bates a target for attack. In her autobiography, she wrote:

“Two flaming crosses were burned on our property. The first, a six-foot gasoline-soaked structure, was stuck into our front lawn just after dusk. At the base of the cross was scrawled: ‘GO BACK TO AFRICA! KKK.’ The second cross was placed against the front of our house, lit, and the flames began to catch. Fortunately, the fire was discovered by a neighbor and we extinguished it before any serious damage had been done.”

As the nation watched the events unfold in Little Rock during the Central High Crisis, they also witnessed Bates’ steady leadership. In 1963, she attended the March on Washington where she was the only female speaker after standing in for Myrlie Evers. It was Daisy Bates who delivered the speech, “Tribute to Negro Women Fighters for Freedom.”