Little Rock: the school that defied segregation

In 1957, nine African American students entered Central High School in Little Rock under military protection, in a symbolic moment of the fight against school segregation.

The centre, where Central High School was at the heart of the desegregation battle in 1957, is easily explored on foot.

The Central High School, still an active school today, is flanked by a visitor center of the National Park Service that recounts the 1957 crisis and the 'Little Rock Nine'.

Just steps away, the Clinton Presidential Library, dedicated to the president from Arkansas, displays documents and objects from his two terms in the White House.

Moving along the river, one walks on the Junction Bridge, a former railroad bridge converted into a pedestrian walkway over the Arkansas River.

As evening falls, the River Market neighborhood, with its lively restaurant and bar scene, closes the day in the city's renewed heart.

The nine students known as the 'Little Rock Nine' had to be escorted by federalized National Guard troops by President Eisenhower after the Arkansas governor attempted to prevent by force their enrollment.

Central High School remains the only high school still functioning in the United States located within a national historic site run by the National Park Service.