Arts
A retrospective of Governor Orval Faubus. On this episode, we interview Civil Rights historian John Kirk and explore his archived tapes of an interview with Gov. Orval Faubus recorded in 1992. From 1955 to 1967, Faubus served as the Democratic Governor of Arkansas. He is most known for leading Arkansas's refusal to comply with the Supreme Court's 1954 decision regarding desegregation in Brown v. Board of Education. In 1957, Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from entering the segregated Central High School in Little Rock. Historians have criticized Faubus for fanning the flames of the crisis for political gain. In 1992, a s a young graduate student, Kirk travelled to Arkansas from England to interview historical figures and Civil Rights leaders regarding the integration in 1957 of Central High School. During these travels, Kirk spoke at length with the aging Governor. In these tapes, Faubus offers his candid perspective of the infamous "Little Rock