Army Situation Report Records Minnijean Brown’s Suspension and Continued Federal Troop Presence at Little Rock Central High School (1957)

Date: December 17, 1957

Created By: The Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Civil Rights, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Office of the Staff Secretary, Subject Series, Alphabetical Subseries, Box 17, Little Rock Vol. I—Reports (7); NAID #17367068

This December 17, 1957 confidential U.S. Army situation report documents events at Little Rock Central High School several months after the school’s integration under federal protection. The report focuses primarily on an incident involving Minnijean Brown, one of the nine Black students attending Central High. According to the report, Principal Jess Matthews suspended Brown for three days after she spilled food on two or three white students during the lunch period. The document also notes that Matthews released information about the incident to the press.

The report indicates that Central High otherwise operated according to its normal schedule that day, opening at 8:30 a.m. and closing at 3:30 p.m. Nine Black students arrived at and departed from the school in private vehicles, and officials reported no significant change in overall student attendance.

Despite the relatively routine school day described in the report, the document demonstrates that a substantial federal military presence remained in Little Rock. One reinforced platoon of the 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry was stationed at Central High itself. At nearby Camp Robinson, another platoon remained on 30-minute alert, a company was maintained on one-hour alert, and the remainder of the reinforced battalion was also available.

The document provides a snapshot of the continuing tensions, disciplinary incidents, and federal security measures surrounding the Little Rock Nine months after their historic entrance into Central High School.