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took control of the
Arkansas National Guard from the governor and sent federal troops to accompany the students to school for protection. Both federal troops and federalized National Guard soldiers were deployed at the school for the entirety of the school year.
194:, under orders from the governor, and an angry mob of about 400 surrounded the school and prevented them from going in. On September 23, 1957, a mob of about 1000 people surrounded the school again as the students attempted to enter. The following day, President
253:, was to show, to countries concerned about American racism, the progress the United States had made with respect to civil rights. It achieved this goal at least in part as the film received wide acclaim (including an
271:
Thomas was a frequent speaker at numerous high schools, colleges and universities throughout the country. He was the recipient of numerous awards from local and federal governmental agencies which include the
284:"for their bravery and heroism throughout Central High's first year of integration". In August 2005, the State of Arkansas honored the Little Rock Nine with statues of their likeness on the Capitol grounds.
179:. Thomas first attended Horace Mann High School, a segregated all-black school, where he was a track athlete. In 1957, he volunteered to be among the first group of black students to integrate all-white
487:
223:, joined the Student Government, and was elected President of the Associated Engineers. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Thomas also served in the U.S. Army's
249:. In the film Thomas said, "If Little Rock taught us nothing more, it taught us that problems can make us better. Much better." The goal of this government film, in the context of the
1511:
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268:, where he received his Honorary Degree, "Doctor of Humane Letters", on May 13, 2001, for his lifelong efforts in human rights and equality advancement.
302:, at age 67. He was the first and, as of 2024, the only member of the Little Rock Nine to have died. After a funeral in Columbus, he was interred at
291:
in
Columbus, Ohio. In his later years, he served on the board of directors for the City of Refuge Learning Academy at the First Church of God.
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Jefferson Thomas, the youngest of seven children, was born in Little Rock to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Thomas. His parents named him after
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On
September 4, 1957, the Little Rock Nine made an unsuccessful attempt to enter Central High School, which had been
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in 1999. Also, in 1999, he and the other members of the Little Rock Nine received the NAACP's prestigious
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with his wife, Mary. He served as a volunteer mentor in the
Village to Child Program co-sponsored by
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Youth
Council and State President of the Progressive Baptist Youth Convention. He also attended
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After more than 27 years as a civil servant, Thomas retired on
September 30, 2004, from the
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Despite the harassment, Thomas graduated from
Central High School in May 1960, and entered
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152:. In 1999, Thomas and the other students of the Little Rock Nine were awarded the
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students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at
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461:"Jefferson Thomas, Who Helped Integrate Little Rock School, Dies at 67"
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Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of
American Democracy
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438:
132:(September 19, 1942 – September 5, 2010) was one of the
488:"'Little Rock Nine' member Jefferson Thomas dead at 67"
435:"'Little Rock Nine' member Jefferson Thomas dead at 67"
365:"'Little Rock Nine' member Jefferson Thomas dead at 67"
1512:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in the United States
1483:
1527:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
395:, Princeton University Press, 2000, pp. 218–19.
568:
276:awarded to the Little Rock Nine by President
406:"Fifty Years of Integration at Central High"
183:for the 1957–58 school year as a sophomore.
166:
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575:
561:
29:
16:Member of the Little Rock Nine (1942–2010)
346:Jefferson Thomas of the Little Rock Nine
211:, Detroit. In mid-1961, he relocated to
257:) and was distributed to 97 countries.
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289:Defense Finance and Accounting Service
556:
458:
1522:Activists from Little Rock, Arkansas
496:. September 12, 2010. Archived from
459:Brown, Robbie (September 6, 2010).
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13:
14:
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1532:Los Angeles State College alumni
241:United States Information Agency
215:. He served as Treasurer of the
181:Little Rock Central High School
142:Little Rock Central High School
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177:President of the United States
1:
1507:Wayne State University alumni
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227:as an infantryman during the
7:
622:William Stanley Braithwaite
335:
10:
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1517:Deaths from cancer in Ohio
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304:Forest Lawn Memorial Park
266:Ohio Dominican University
221:Los Angeles State College
202:
113:
105:
95:
90:Los Angeles State College
81:
62:
40:
28:
21:
1262:A. Leon Higginbotham Jr.
878:Charles Hamilton Houston
662:George Washington Carver
525:Congressional Gold Medal
322:portrayed Thomas in the
274:Congressional Gold Medal
167:Early life and education
154:Congressional Gold Medal
130:Jefferson Allison Thomas
118:Congressional Gold Medal
213:Los Angeles, California
192:Arkansas National Guard
1318:Constance Baker Motley
1198:Frederick D. Patterson
934:Martin Luther King Jr.
862:Channing Heggie Tobias
750:William T. B. Williams
726:Richard Berry Harrison
710:Mordecai Wyatt Johnson
329:The Ernest Green Story
209:Wayne State University
86:Wayne State University
1278:Myrlie Evers-Williams
1034:Clarence Mitchell Jr.
886:Mabel Keaton Staupers
646:Charles Sidney Gilpin
528:, USA, archived from
343:Nine from Little Rock
246:Nine from Little Rock
225:9th Infantry Division
100:Civil Rights Movement
55:Little Rock, Arkansas
1382:Frankie Muse Freeman
1146:Benjamin Elijah Mays
774:Walter Francis White
678:James Weldon Johnson
654:Mary Burnett Talbert
410:Arkansas Globecoming
308:Glendale, California
239:Thomas narrated the
196:Dwight D. Eisenhower
910:Theodore K. Lawless
758:Mary McLeod Bethune
702:Charles W. Chesnutt
598:Ernest Everett Just
500:on January 21, 2013
371:. September 6, 2010
23:Jefferson A. Thomas
1422:Nathaniel R. Jones
1286:Earl G. Graves Sr.
1254:John Hope Franklin
854:Percy Lavon Julian
814:A. Philip Randolph
734:Robert Russa Moton
466:The New York Times
260:Thomas resided in
51:September 19, 1942
1479:
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1462:Cato T. Laurencin
846:Thurgood Marshall
822:William H. Hastie
686:Carter G. Woodson
493:Columbus Dispatch
296:pancreatic cancer
294:Thomas died from
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66:September 5, 2010
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1502:Little Rock Nine
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412:, archived from
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389:Dudziak, Mary L.
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314:Media portrayals
173:Thomas Jefferson
138:African-American
134:Little Rock Nine
69:
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1414:Sidney Poitier
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1214:Douglas Wilder
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584:Spingarn Medal
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517:External links
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300:Columbus, Ohio
282:Spingarn Award
262:Columbus, Ohio
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74:Columbus, Ohio
72:
70:(aged 67)
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1206:Jesse Jackson
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1138:Coleman Young
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718:Henry A. Hunt
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606:Charles Young
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532:on 2014-12-17
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504:September 13,
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416:on 2010-10-07
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255:Academy Award
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243:'s 1964 film
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1438:Willie Brown
1429:
1406:Quincy Jones
1374:Cicely Tyson
1350:John Conyers
1246:Maya Angelou
1222:Colin Powell
1190:Percy Sutton
1161:
1118:Andrew Young
1109:
1081:
1066:Wilson Riles
1058:Gordon Parks
986:Medgar Evers
870:Ralph Bunche
838:Paul Robeson
781:
670:Roland Hayes
548:Find a Grave
534:, retrieved
530:the original
524:
502:. Retrieved
498:the original
491:
482:
472:September 7,
470:. Retrieved
464:
454:
444:September 6,
442:. Retrieved
429:
418:, retrieved
414:the original
409:
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373:. Retrieved
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317:
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286:
278:Bill Clinton
270:
259:
244:
238:
206:
185:
170:
161:Bill Clinton
129:
128:
68:(2010-09-05)
1497:2010 deaths
1492:1942 births
1470:Jim Clyburn
1366:Julian Bond
1334:Oliver Hill
1170:Tom Bradley
1098:Alvin Ailey
1074:Damon Keith
994:Roy Wilkins
942:Daisy Bates
229:Vietnam War
146:Little Rock
109:Mary Thomas
1486:Categories
1342:Ben Carson
1310:John Lewis
1270:Carl Rowan
1174:Bill Cosby
1154:Lena Horne
1122:Rosa Parks
1102:Alex Haley
1090:Hank Aaron
742:Max Yergan
536:2011-09-05
420:2010-09-07
375:2016-12-30
351:References
320:Tico Wells
235:Later life
188:segregated
47:1942-09-19
766:John Hope
158:President
82:Education
1454:no award
1430:no award
1358:Ruby Dee
1162:no award
1110:no award
1082:no award
944:and the
782:no award
336:See also
251:Cold War
150:Arkansas
96:Movement
586:winners
1468:2022:
1460:2021:
1452:2020:
1444:2019:
1436:2018:
1428:2017:
1420:2016:
1412:2015:
1404:2014:
1396:2013:
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1308:2002:
1300:2001:
1292:2000:
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1212:1990:
1204:1989:
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1144:1982:
1136:1981:
1128:1980:
1116:1979:
1108:1978:
1096:1977:
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326:movie
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190:. The
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57:, U.S.
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76:, U.S
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