Daisy Bates
Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was born on November 11, 1914 at Huttig, Arkansas. Huttig was referred to as a "plantation town" by Daisy. People in town made a living at the mill, rented houses owned by the mill and even bought their food from mill-owned stores. She was an American who made enormous contribution to civil rights. She was also a journalist and wrote her own book intitled "The Long Shadow of Little Rock".
Bates' mother was killed while resisting three local white men who brutally attacked and killed her throwing her body into a nearby pond. Her father left the family shortly after her mother's death because his life was threatened if he stayed. Daisy was raised by friends of the family, Orle and Susie Smith. It wasn't until much later that Daisy learned the Smith's were not her real parents. When she relized that her mother had been killed in such a tragic way, she secretly vowed to vindicate her mother's death. She had much hatred toward white people. On her Fathers' death bed he spoke these wordsGore provides a final tribute to Daisy Bates, a twentieth century civil rights pioneer: "Her commitment to civil rights was a life-long endeavor. She served as the president of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP and spoke with eloquence at the March on Washington in 1963. Over the course of her life, she received many awards for her work. But I think most Americans agree that Daisy will be remembered more for what she gave than what she received."
Daisy first experienced predjudism against Black people when she was 7 years old. She went to buy meat and a butcher derrogitivelly called her a "nigger". These kinds of things at a young age seemed to build a fire in her,compelling her to seek justice for the Black race.
When Daisy was only 15 years old, she fell in love with an insurance saleman named L.C. Bates. Three years later, they were married. It was her husbands desire to start a newspaper and eventually, he took the opportunity to do that. Daisy and L.C. started the "Arkansas State Press", renting space at a local church. On May 9, 1941 they printed their first issue.
"The Arkansas State Press" was a channel for many persecuted people to get their stories told. These included soldiers who, even though they fought for their country during WWII, were riduculed and even sometimes tortured when they returned home.Arkansas State Press, also publicized violations of the US Supreme Court's desegregation rulings.
In 1952, Daisy Bates was elected president of the Arkansas State Conference of NAACP branches.
Bates and her husband L.C. Bates were important figures in the Little Rock Integration Crisis in 1957.
Bates guided and advised the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they attempted to enroll at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The students' attempts to enroll provoked a confrontation with Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who called out the National Guard to prevent the students from enrolling.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened by federalizing the Arkansas National Guard and dispatching the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas. This ensured that the court orders were enforced. The students attended the high school. Records indicate that they did very well. Mr. Green, one of the "nine students" later became an aide to President Johnson.
Their involvement in the Little Rock Crisis resulted in the loss of much advertising revenue to their newspaper.They were accused of not providing proper identification. Public sentiment was aggitated so much and business became so slow that closure of the press (1959 ), became immenant. The Bates'then moved to New York City the following year. There Daisy worked on her memoirs
Then, the Bates' moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the Democratic National Committee. Daisy served in the administration of President Lyndon Baines Johnson on anti-poverty programs. In 1965, she suffered a stroke and returned to Little Rock.
In 1968, she moved into a trailer house in a rural black community of Mitchellville, Arkansas, in Desha County. She concentrated on improving the lives of her neighbors by establishing a self-help program which was responsible for new sewer systems, paved streets, a water system, and community center.
L.J.,her husband since 1918, passed away. She kept on with her mission of equal rights for all.
Bates revived the Arkansas State Press in 1984. Her memoir, The Long Shadow of Little Rock, won a 1988 American Book Award. It was on a reprint which is almost unheard of.
Daisy Bates died in Little Rock, Arkansas on 4 November 1999. She was 88 years old.
Honors and awards
- 1988 American Book Award
- Arkansas General Assembly Commendation
- Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, University of Arkansas
- Diamond Cross of Malta from the Philadelphia Cotillion Society
- Arkansas has established the third Monday in February as "George Washington's Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day," an official state holiday.
- The street that runs in front of Little Rock Central High School has been renamed for her.
- The Daisy Bates Elementary School in Little Rock is named in her honor.
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