Armed Escort To School
American-swede, Gloria Ray Karlmark waited many years before writing a book about the terrifying events she and eight other Black teenagers faced at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas during the 1957-58 school year.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, Gloria Ray was fourteen years old when armed white soldiers stopped her from attending Little Rock's Central High School. The year was 1957, and the state's governor refused to act on the Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling, which declared that segregation of Black and white children in American schools violated the Constitution.
The Little Rock Nine
Gloria Ray and eight other teenagers were the first to take their first step into the all-white school. "That day, my childhood ended," Gloria says today. The resistance to integration in Arkansas was so strong and violent that President Dwight Eisenhower was forced to deploy armed military troops to escort the nine Black students to school daily for the whole school year. The following year all highschools in Arkansas were shut down just to prevent more Black youth from attempting attending white schools. The event became world news and “The Little Rock Nine” as they were dubbed, are now iconic figures in the history of the American civil rights movement.
Traumatic Memories
Now approaching her 82nd birthday, Gloria recounts the brutal reality in her new book Med Gloria. I rasismens skugga(Gloria. In the Shadow of Racism), co-written with author Elisabeth Åsbrink: "Ink, eggs, spit, screws, nuts, stones, urine, feces... I can't even list everything thrown at me. I don't want to think about it. My clothes are almost always dirty or bloody when I come home. Mom washes them without asking. I say nothing."
Gloria grew up in a privileged Black family; her parents were graduates of Tuskegee University. Despite her parent’s efforts to create a safe environment for their children, integration at Central High exposed Gloria to the extremities of racism. Gloria’s new book recollects her memories of that traumatic year and the toll it took on her.
Told In Swedish For The First Time
What's particularly striking is that when Gloria’s important story is finally told in book form, it’s told in Swedish—the language of the country she adopted after marrying swede Krister Karlmark. Ironically, Sweden is now grappling with its own issues of racism and segregation. There’s a sense of curiosity that compels us to read her story, to understand why it took Gloria so long to share it, and to see if she draws any connections between her experiences as a young girl in Little Rock and what modern Black youth in Sweden are facing today.
Look for the book at your local bookstore:
Med Gloria. I rasismens skugga (Polaris Publishing).
Authors: Gloria Ray Karlmark and Elisabeth Åsbrink.