Independent Lens

Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock

Daisy Bates was a complex, unconventional, and largely forgotten heroine of the civil rights movement who led the charge to desegregate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

A Feminist Before the Term Was Invented

1m 8s

As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society. This film tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students who registered to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas -- pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

Previews + Extras

  • Daisy Bates: Turning a Childhood Tragedy into the Pursuit of: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Daisy Bates: Turning a Childhood Tragedy into the Pursuit of

    S13 E13 - 1m 32s

    As soldiers began streaming into Little Rock to maintain order during the desegregation of all-white Central High School, Daisy Bates reflected on a driving force behind her own activism: the murder of her own mother when she was a child.

  • Daisy Bates: Retiring from the Struggle, But Not From the Ca: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Daisy Bates: Retiring from the Struggle, But Not From the Ca

    S13 E13 - 1m 17s

    In later years, Daisy Bates returned to journalism, working tirelessly for the Arkansas State Press. However, after five years of working long days and late nights, she realized the pressure of running a weekly newspaper was too much for her.

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