Daisy+Bates



Daisy Lee Gatson on November 11, 1914, in Huttig, Arkansas.She was by adoptive parents Orlee and Susie Smith. Her biological mother was brutally attacked, murdered, and submerged in a pond by three white men. Shortly after the tragic incident, her father was forced to leave Huttig because he feared reprisals from some angry whites, who did not want him to prosecute the suspects.The tragedy of her mother's death and racial discrimination she experienced growing up caused Daisy to dislike Whites.

Her father's death words inspired her to become a civil rights activist.His words stated: "Hate can destroy you. Don't hate white people just because they're white. If you hate, make it count for something. Hate the humiliations we are living under in the South. Hate the discrimination that eats away at the soul of every black man and woman. Hate the insults hurled at us by white scum--and they try to do something about it, or your hate won't spell at thing."

Daisy Bates, president of the NAACP participated in a program that was meant to pressure the Little Rock School Board into a intergration program. The plan was code named "Blossom Plan". Daisy Bates took on the responsibility of providing protective custody for the students chosen to integrate Central High School. The nine students, aged 14 to 16, who are able to attend Central High School were: Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrance Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls, dubbed "The Little Rock Nine." The students and their parents had faith in Daisy Bates' ability to withstand the resistance of whites in the city and the onslaughts of violence. A rock was thrown into the picture window of the Bates' home in August of 1957. The note attached to the rock had the message, "Stone this time. Dynamite next." Two days after this incident, an eight-foot cross was burned on the Bates' lawn. The message this time was, "Go back to Africa. KKK." This incident made Bates more determined than ever to carry on with the plans to integrate.

Bates remained the escort, advisor, and mentor for the students until they received the education to which they were entitled. On May 27, 1958, one of Bates' "nine," Ernest Green, became the first black to graduate from Central High in a class of 601 white students. Just a couple of months later, on July 7, 1958, a bomb exploded in front of the Bates' home on July 7, 1958. Amidst the violence directed at the students and herself, Bates never wavered.This case was nationally known as "Brown v. Board of Education".

Daisy married Lucius (L.C.) Christopher Bates, an insurance agent and close family friend, in 1941. They moved to Little Rock, Arkansas and founded the State Press newspaper. The newspaper served, then and today, as a promoter of social and economic upliftment for the African American citizens of Arkansas. Daisy returned to Little Rock in the mid-1960s and spent much of her time on community programs. After the death of her husband in 1980, she also resuscitated their newspaper for several years, from 1984 to 1988. Bates died on November 4, 1999, Little Rock, Arkansas. Daisy and Her husband did not have any children.

"Who is Daisy Bates?". Pagewise. 2002 .

"Bio true history". A&E Television Networks. 2006 .