Percheron Horses for Sale near Charleston, AR

About Charleston, AR

Charleston was platted in 1870. In 1954, Charleston was the first school district in the former Confederate States to implement school integration in response to Brown v. Board of Education . On July 27, 1954, the school board, including President Howard Madison Orsburn, George Hairston, Archibald Schaffer, Herbert Shumate, and Homer Keith, unanimously voted to "disband the Colored School and admit the Colored children into the grade and high school when classes open for the fall semester." Accordingly, when the schools opened on August 23, 11 black children were in attendance alongside 480 whites. School Superintendent Woodie Haynes made an agreement with the local press not to cover the event, and stonewalled any outside reporters that asked questions.