60th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School

Submitted by Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and many community and state-wide partners will begin commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the transforming events surrounding the desegregation of public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas with a four day event running Friday, September 22nd through Monday September 25th, 2017. One of the highlights will be a special artistic tribute entitled "Imagine If Buildings Could Talk: Mapping the History of Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site" paying tribute to the 60th anniversary of the desegregation crisis at Central High as well as the 90th anniversary of the school's construction.

This centerpiece of the festival is a free-admission, 3D, mapped video screening (projected directly on the front façade of the school), nine minutes in length, which will run on a continuous loop, Sept. 23-24 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Other commemorative activities will include Civil Rights bus tours, a concert featuring multiple school and one professional band, an education forum that includes book signings and education panel discussions, the debut screening of the Film Marshall and a program in the Historic Site's Commemorative garden entitled Civil Twilight "Turing History into Art". The Historic Site's visitor center will be available during regular hours of operation and have limited availability during the other events to accommodate visitors' basic needs.

COMMEMORATION EVENTS SCHEDULE

September 22

• 1:30 p.m.    Unveiling and dedication of United sculpture on CHS campus
• 5:30-9:00 p.m.    Debut screening of Marshall

September 23

• Noon-6:00 p.m.    Arkansas Peace Fest
• Noon-4:00 p.m.    Civil Rights Bus Tours
• Noon-6:00 p.m.    Central Arkansas Student Bands Concert (NPS Mobil Station)
• 1:00-2:00 p.m.    Authors' Book Signing
• 2:00-3:00 p.m.    FBI - Federal Hate Crime Investigations Presentation
• 3:00-4:00 p.m.    Intergenerational Panel on Racism & Racial Healing
• 4:00-5:00 p.m.    Student Artists & Filmmakers Recognition
• 6:00-7:30 p.m.    Professional Jazz Concert (NPS Mobil Station)
• 7:30-9:30 p.m.    Imagine If Buildings Could Talk 3D Mapped Video

September 24

• Noon-4:00 p.m.    Civil Rights History Bus Tours
• 4:30-5:00 p.m.    Student Selects 60th Commemoration Short Films
• 6:00-7:30 p.m.    Civil Twilight Spirit of Central High Ceremony
• 7:30-9:30 p.m.    Imagine If Buildings Could Talk 3D laser light show

September 25

• 10:00 a.m.    60th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony
• These events are open to the public and free of charge. For additional information, please call the park at (501) 374-1957 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., visit our website at www.NPS.gov/chsc or follow us at www.facebook.com/CentralHighNPS.