The Little Rock Nine
- Photograph by
- Platon, British, born 1968
- Subject of
- Patillo Beals, Melba, American, born 1941
- Brown-Trickey, Minnijean, American, born 1941
- Eckford, Elizabeth, American, born 1941
- Green, Ernest
- Ray Karlmark, Gloria Cecelia, American, born 1942
- LaNier, Carlotta Walls, American, born 1942
- Mothershed-Wair, Thelma, American, born 1940
- Roberts, Terrence, American, born 1941
- Thomas, Jefferson, American, 1942 - 2010
- Little Rock Central High School, American, founded 1927
- Date
- 2009; printed 2019
- Medium
- pigment on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 15 9/16 × 21 1/2 in. (39.5 × 54.6 cm)
- H x W (sheet): 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
- H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
- Description
- A black-and-white photograph of the Little Rock Nine, by Platon. The photograph depicts the Little Rock Nine in full length, holding hands, and standing in a row in front of the front entrance to the Little Rock Central High School. Standing from left to right is Jefferson Thomas, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray, Elizabeth Eckford, Carlotta Walls, Terrence Roberts, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, and Ernest Green. Thomas, on the far left, is wearing a dark tone, pinstripe suit with a white dress shirt and a patterned tie. He is looking up and to the right into the distance. He has a serious expression on his face. His proper right hand is resting on the front of his proper right thigh and he is holding Brown’s proper right hand with his proper left hand. Brown is wearing a medium tone, ribbed turtleneck shirt under a dark tone cardigan, black pants, and a necklace with a square pendant. She is smiling and looking up and into the distance towards the right. She is holding Eckford’s proper right hand with her proper left hand. Eckford is wearing a dark tone pantsuit, a dark tone blouse, a strand of pearls, and an accent scarf with an abstract black and white pattern. She has a slight smile on her face and is looking into the distance to the left. She is holding Ray’s proper right hand with her proper left hand. Ray is wearing a medium tone poncho with a black swirl pattern and dark tone, loose pants. She has a serious expression on her face and is looking forward into the distance to the left. She is holding Wall’s proper right hand with her proper left hand. Walls is wearing a medium tone, elongated cardigan with three-quarter length sleeves embellished with black beads along the neckline, cuffs, and along the open front edge. The sweater is fastened at the neckline with a single button. She is also wearing a medium tone blouse, dark tone pants, a necklace with a drop pendant, and bangles on both wrists. Her proper left arm is resting at her side. She has a serious expression on her face and is looking forward into the distance. Standing to the right of Walls is Roberts. He is wearing a dark tone suit and a white dress shirt. He is looking at the viewer and has a serious expression on his face. Mothershed is standing directly in front of him and he has both hands under her arms, supporting her, as she leans on her walker. Mothershed is wearing a black jacket with six large white button down the front and medium tone pants. She is looking directly at the viewer with a serious expression on her face. She is grasping the handrails on the metal walker in front of her with both hands. Standing next to her is Patillo. She is wearing a floral pattern jacket over a medium tone cowl neck shirt and an ankle length skirt. She is also wearing wire rimmed glasses, a headband, and a necklace with a teardrop shaped pendant. She is leaning towards Mothershed, looking at the viewer, with a serious expression on her face. She is holding Green’s proper right hand with her proper left hand. Green is standing at the far right side of the group. He is wearing a medium tone suit, a white dress shirt, a diagonally striped tie, and sunglasses. He is looking up and into the distance. The group is standing on a grassy patch in front of the school. Visible behind them are the hedges around the water feature and the steps leading up on either side to the front entrance of the school. Above the group is a cloudy sky. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer’s signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer’s embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?[encircled between two bands of embossed dots]]. The back of the photograph is plain and white.
- Place printed
- New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Place captured
- Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- pigment prints
- portraits
- Topic
- Activism
- American South
- Civil rights
- Education
- Photography
- Race relations
- Segregation
- U.S. History, 1961-1969
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon
- Object number
- 2021.33.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Platon
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.