FAUBUS, ORVAL E. 1910-

GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS (1954-1967)

Reputation as a Segregationist

Known as a strong segregationist, Gov. Orval Faubus brought about the single most controversial reaction to Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas in 1957. Earlier in the year Faubus signed four bills that created an anti-integration investigation committee; authorized parents to refuse to send their children to integrated schools; required organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to publish membership roles and financial data; and authorized the use of school-district funds to hire lawyers and pay for other legal costs to fight integration. He was determined to keep Arkansas segre-gated despite federal rulings to the contrary.

Little Rock Crisis

The events in Little Rock shook the country, and the American public viewed Faubus several times on television defending his segregationist beliefs. He saw the black students as the "cause" of the problems and encouraged violence to maintain the status quo. As federal troops took control of the situation, Faubus charged that the president had overstepped his authority by interfering with state and local rights to control education. Over the next two years Faubus emphasized the theme of federal abuse of power, charging that Supreme Court decisions were illegal and continuing the debate over the proper actions for Little Rock schools to take.

His Popular Appeal

Faubus's political career boomed after Little Rock. In 1958 Faubus won an almost unprecedented third term as governor in a Democratic primary (he would go on to a fifth term). Generally viewed as a rejection of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's use of federal troops in Little Rock, the vote was cited by Faubus as evidence that his stand against integration had the support of the people of Arkansas. The governor would not give up despite signs that the federal government would support integration. At the close of the decade Faubus pledged to continue the fight and stated "mass integration would not be accepted."

Sources:

Elizabeth Huckaby, Crisis at Central High School (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980);

Robert Sherrill, Gothic Politics in the Deep South: Stars of the New Confederacy (New York: Grossman Publishers, 1968).