Eckford was one of the first. Not the first. There were nine black students selected to be integrated into Central high and they all started on the same day, September 24th when Eisenhower chose to enforce the Supreme court's decision with Brown v. Board. The students had planned to enter the school together, but Elizabeth Eckford's family didn't have a phone so she didn't get the message. She attempted to enter the school on her own, only to be turned back by Gov. Faubus's soldiers. The students didn't even enter the building until September 23rd, three weeks after the beginning of school, when they slipped through a side door (only to be forced out due to the mob outside). September 24th president Eisenhower sent federal troops in to stop the mob and escort the children safely to their classes.
There were nine black students selected to be integrated into Central high and they all started on the same day, September 24th when Eisenhower chose to enforce the Supreme court's decision with Brown v. Board.
The students had planned to enter the school together, but Elizabeth Eckford's family didn't have a phone so she didn't get the message. She attempted to enter the school on her own, only to be turned back by Gov. Faubus's soldiers.
The students didn't even enter the building until September 23rd, three weeks after the beginning of school, when they slipped through a side door (only to be forced out due to the mob outside).
September 24th president Eisenhower sent federal troops in to stop the mob and escort the children safely to their classes.