Orval Faubus – 1910-1994

One of several segregationist southern governors during the 1950s, Faubus garnered national attention when, in 1957, he called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African-American children from attending Little Rock Central High School pursuant to a federal desegregation order. Unwilling to allow a governor to defy federal law, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard, ordered them to stand down, and sent members of the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to escort and protect black students enrolling in the school. Faubus responded by shutting down Little Rock Schools for the next two years.