Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CONWAY, ARK. LENGTH: Medium
Faubus, who had suffered from spinal cancer, rose from the backwoods poverty of the Ozark Mountain hamlet Greasy Creek to the state's highest office with only an elementary school education.
The conservative Democrat was Arkansas' longest-serving governortion crisis lifted him to national attention.
In 1957, Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent the black students from entering Central High despite federal court orders. To the end, he insisted he acted only to avoid the violence he was sure would come with desegregation.
To ensure the Little Rock Nine's safety, Eisenhower federalized the guard to remove it from Faubus' control and sent 1,200 paratroopers to protect the Little Rock Nine. Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division also were sent.
It was the first such use of federal troops and demonstrated the federal resolve behind the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 school segregation ruling.
``The governor, during '57, had an opportunity to become a statesman, and he didn't move to that level,'' said one of the nine blacks who enrolled at Central High, Ernest Green.
``He did what he had to do at that time,'' said Faubus' first wife, Alta. ``His main interest was keeping peace.''
Faubus won four more terms after the Central High crisis. Some say he benefited from segregationist emotion. But he also was known for boosting industrial development, starting one of the state's biggest road-building programs and establishing community colleges and vocational-technical schools.
by CNB