When a group of children known as the Little Rock Nine arrived on the campus of Arkansas' Central High School on September 4, 1957, they changed history forever. By being the first black students to attend a traditionally white high school, the nine students helped move America toward a more just and constitutional attitude toward people of color. To Kill a Mockingbird was written during this period and deals with many of the same cultural issues even though its story takes place a few decades earlier. If this were not the case and the characters in the novel had grown up around the same time as the Little Rock Nine, there is no doubt that Scout, Atticus, Bob Ewell and many other characters would have had strong opinions and might even have taken action for or against the Little Rock Nine or the civil rights movement as a whole. The Little Rock Nine were part of a larger civil rights movement that began in 1865 with the 13th Amendment and continues today. Many prominent figures emerged at the forefront of the cause, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, but the Little Rock Nine advanced civil rights in education by launching efforts to desegregate schools. Their legacy lives on, made of courage and perseverance. Their story began in 1954 when Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. It was the first court ruling opposing the "separate but equal" doctrine that had become standard since Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which propagated segregation: "'separate' facilities provided for blacks and "whites were legally acceptable provided they were of an 'equal' standard" (Kirk, "Crisis at Central High"). Little Rock, Arkansas, was in the middle of paper......mit. The other is Boo Radley, who is a "mockingbird" because he is not the monster the children believe at first, but instead leaves presents and helps the children whenever he can. Scout learns that killing a mockingbird is a sin at the end of the novel when she accepts that she must lie about Radley's involvement in murder because "it would be a bit like shooting a mockingbird" (Lee 370 ). Joan I. “Little Rock Central High: Looking Back.” Sales Call (Memphis, TN). September 21, 1997: A1+. Researcher on SIRS issues. Internet. April 12, 2014. Kirk, John A. “Crisis at Central High.” History Today (London, England) Vol. 57, no. 9. September 2007: 23-30. Researcher on SIRS issues. Internet. April 11, 2014. Kowalski, Kathiann M. “Little Rock NINE.” Pavé 35.2 (2014): 18-19. Print. Lee, Harper. To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.