On May 17, 1954, the Brown v Board of education ruling was delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren. It stated that the segregation of public schools violated the 14th Amendment, so segregation was deemed unconstitutional. “This historic decision marked the end of the "separate but equal" precedent set by the Supreme Court nearly 60 years earlier in Plessy v. Ferguson” (National Archives).

The Little Rock School Board announced that they would abide by the Brown v. Board ruling on May 22, 1954. By May of 1955, the board accepted the blossom plan, which enforced integration at a very gradual pace. They planned to start the integration process in the elementary schools but the white parents fought for the integration to begin in high school. The plan was changed to desegregate Central High instead of the elementary school, and the plan would be enforced in 1957. The NAACP sued the board to speed up the desegregation process, but the federal court ruled that the school board was meeting the constitutional requirements. One big organization was formed to resist desegregation, it was known as the Capital Citizens’ Council, also known as the CCC. 

The school board picked nine black applicants to attend the school. Governor Orval Faubus was requested by the CCC to reject the implementation of integration for the reason of violence. Faubus, in turn, requested the federal government to help maintain safety but he was rejected. He replied with the argument that the government was requiring a policy, but not helping to implement it. Federal District Judge Ronald Davies made the decision to continue on, and denied Faubus to make any changes in the process. Governor Faubus decided to not listen to the ruling and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central High, preventing the African American students entrance on account of “preventing violence”.