Central High Effects
Each year, UALR conducts a survey of racial attitudes in Pulaski County. The study examines the attitudes, beliefs, and opinions of county residents in the hope of providing a better understanding of racial issues and to promote community discussions to resolve the racial problems in our county. As part of this year’s survey, researchers at the UALR Institute of Government Survey Research Center asked Pulaski County residents what the events at Central High School mean for race relations in their community today. Are black-white race relations still bearing the impact of what happened that September 50 years ago? And if so, has the impact of the Central High events had a positive or negative effect on the way whites and blacks relate today?
The Legacy of the Central High Crisis and its Impact on Race Relations in Pulaski County
September 2007
Of all the 1,666 people who participated in the survey, 873 people said that they believe that the events of 1957 continue to have an impact on Pulaski County race relations. These participants were then asked to describe, in their own words, their views on the nature of this impact.
The free response nature of the questions yielded a deep pool of material for researchers to analyze. Overall, these rich and varied data provide a fascinating snapshot of the attitudes of today’s Pulaski County residents toward one of the most infamous episodes in their collective history.
A note on the Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County Survey
Results are based on telephone interviews with a total of 1,666 black and white adult Pulaski County residents interviewed between September 29 and November 27, 2006 by the UALR Institute of Government Survey Research Center. The methodology is described further in the Year 4 Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County report.
If you have any questions, or would like to know more about the original data upon which this report is based, contact Siobhan Bartley at the Institute of Government Survey Research Center at 501.569.8357.