LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV)- A group of students at Central High want to preserve the history their school was built on.
They're starting with September 4, 1957, when then Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, brought in the National Guard to stop nine black students from entering the school.
“One of the famous stories from that day is Elizabeth Eckford walking down the sidewalk to a bench to find a safe haven,” David Kilton with the Central High National Park said.
In her honor and to highlight the story of the Little Rock 9, there will be a bench placed at the same corner where she sat.
“As part of this project they’re also going to have an audio tour where people can connect with the story and be able to sit at the bench and reflect on what happened and how it still impacts our lives today,” Kilton said.
The students call themselves the memory project, they focus on the Civil Rights and the history of Little Rock.
“We want people to remember the story forever and we want our children to be able to come recreate this experience and story and understand it,” one student said.
“The bench will help people live through the story and I think people having that experience will make them more compassionate,” another student said.
The unveiling ceremony for the Elizabeth Eckford’s bench is September 4, 2018.