Little Rock Nine leaving Little Rock’s Central High School after finishing another school day.Photo: Bettmann / Contributor (Getty Images)
The Little Rock Nine changed everything the day they crossed the threshold of Little Rock Central Highschool in September of 1957. Under threat of death, the nine children integrated the Arkansas high school, demanding equal access to education for all.
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Now, several surviving members of the Little Rock Nine are calling out another form of injustice, threatening to erase their hard-work decades earlier. Earlier this month, the Arkansas Department of Education announced that Advanced Placement African American Studies won’t count as an AP course credit. The decision will no doubt discourage schools from offering the course and students from taking it.
In an interview with NBC News, several members of the Little Rock Nine denounced the decision, calling it an attempt to “erase history.”
“I think the attempts to erase history is working for the Republican Party,” said Elizabeth Eckford, one of the nine children who integrated Little Rock Central in 1957. “They have some boogeymen that are really popular with their supporters.”
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LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – SEPTEMBER 13: Elizabeth Eckford poses for a portrait on September 13, 2007 in front of the main entrance of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Threading her way though an angry mob as the Arkansas National Guard looked on, Eckford was the first of nine black schoolchildren to make history on September 4th, 1957 when she arrived, alone, for the first day of classes at the all-white high school.Photo: Charles Ommanney (Getty Images)
The Arkansas Department of Education has said that they will be reviewing the course to make sure that it doesn’t teach Critical Race Theory, which was banned in March. As we’ve written about, CRT has essentially become a catch-all for teaching about race in the United States, and bans on CRT have been incredibly vague. It’s not totally clear how the state will determine whether teaching AP African American studies will violate their anti-CRT ban.
Terrence Roberts, who was physically threatened by a white student wielding a baseball bat, told NBC News that students need to know what they went through and why. “At a “bare minimum,” Roberts told NBC, “there shouldn’t be laws restricting their ability to learn.”
Arkansas football has extended an offer to a 2028 in-state prospect.
Running back Kentz Brown, 6-0 and 210 pounds, of Dumas received the offer from running backs coach Kolby Smith on Tuesday.
“Pure excitement,” Brown said of his reaction to the offer. “I was home watching football with my family. It’s a great way to close out the year and welcome the new year. Coach Kolby Smith asked that I call and my family was able to witness the conversation. I grew up watching the Razorbacks and always dreamed of the opportunity. I’m extremely grateful and overwhelmed with joy about this opportunity.”
He is the half-brother of former Dumas and UNLV running back Kylin James. He previously received offers from Ole Miss and Central Arkansas.
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In five games with the freshman team, Brown rushed for 1,179 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He is the first 2028 in-state prospect to receive an offer from Arkansas.
The 2025 NBA Draft class is shaping up be one of the best in years, led largely by its crop of talented guards.
One that flew under the radar prior to the season, but is beginning to make waves, is Arkansas’ Boogie Fland. At a slightly-undersized 6-foot-2, he may very well be the most complete true point guard in the class at the moment, showing scoring prowess, elite passing and plenty of defensive potential.
In a 30-point blowout of Oakland Monday, Fland was again spectacular, adding a team-high 22 points, six assists to zero turnovers and two rebounds. He didn’t see a block or steal, but was able to shoot a blistering 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, in addition to efficiency within it. It seems all season the freshman guard has been able to help Arkansas to wins, a rare trait for a college newcomer, even a four-star.
On the season, he’s added 15.3 points, 6.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Razorbacks. Even those who knew of Fland’s talent going into the season likely weren’t expecting lottery-level numbers, but that’s exactly what he’s put up thus far. His near-3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio has especially been eye-catching.
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While lead guards aren’t in high demand in the NBA at the moment, Fland is making a great case for team’s to draft him in the late-lottery if they’re in need of a steady ball handler.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-0 SEC) notched a 92-62 win over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (4-10, 1-2 Horizon) on Monday night in their final tuneup before conference play starts.
Coming out of an extended break after the Christmas holiday, Arkansas looked sluggish and disjointed in the first half. The Hogs turned the ball over nine times in the first 20 minutes and they gave up 30 points in the paint to the Golden Grizzlies.
As the Razorbacks have done many times this season, they pulled away in the second half. A big part of that was the play of Boogie Fland, who scored just one point in the first but exploded for 23 in the second.
Arkansas also got a full-scale effort from Adou Thiero, who had 20 points in the game and tacked on six assists, six rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
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The non conference slate has now come to a close and the gauntlet of the Southeastern Conference schedule starts Saturday against No. 1 Tennessee. Here’s some of HawgBeat’s takeaways from Monday’s win…
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