Daisy Gatson Bates, Day!
American journalist and civil rights activist Daisy Gatson Bates was born November 11, 1914, in Huttig', Arkansas. She was raised in a foster- care home. When Mrs.Bates was three years old, her mother was killed by three white men, which mental and emotional made her confront racial injustice.
Gatson attended Huttig's segregated public school, where she experienced first-hand impoverished conditions with other African American students. In 1941, Bates met her husband L.C.Bates, an insurance salesman and former journalist. Together they traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas, and started a newspaper called "The Arkansas Weekly." In which the newspaper was committed to the civil rights movement and its improvements for the black community.
Also, Bates worked with Arkansas local civil rights organization and served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the (NAACP). In 1954, she became noticed and build a household name. As a result, the U.S Supreme courthouse then consider the ruling of segregation, and Bates began enrolling African Americans into White schools. The white schools still tried to refuse the black students, and Bates used her newspaper to publicize the white schools. Due to Bate's organization, she often was a target. As a result, she received bullet shells in her mailbox and rocks tossed into her home, which led to the closing of the newspaper in 1959.
In 1962 Daisy published her autobiography," The Long Shadow Of Little Rock". Then worked for the democratic national committee's voter education drive and for President Lyndon B. Johnson's antipoverty programs in Washington, DC. In 1965 Bates returned to Mitchellville, Arkansas where the community lacked economic resources. Therefore, she began working on community improvements and organizational skills. The Arkansas Weekly newspaper was also revived, in 1984, but then sold.
In 1999, Bates was awarded, " The Medal Of Freedom", and the state of Arkansas proclaimed Daisy Gatson Bates Day. On November 4th, 1999, Mrs.Dates passed away. She maintains her involvement being a strong black woman in helping to end segregation.
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