Orval Faubus in Civil Rights Movement: Desegregation

Orval Faubus in Civil Rights Movement: Desegregation

Orval Faubus (1910–1994) was the Democratic Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, famously known for his vigorous stand against the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

In 1957, Governor Faubus deployed National Guardsmen to block Supreme Court-ordered school integration. Ultimately, President Dwight Eisenhower used federal authority to force Faubus to comply with the desegregation orders. Interestingly, in a Gallup Poll administered in 1958, Americans chose Faubus as one of their "ten most admired men."