'Little Rock Nine' prepare to celebrate day of victory

The president-elect has invited as inauguration guests the nine black people who as children defied racist mobs in Arkansas over 50 years ago

Joanna Walters in New York
The Observer, Sunday 28 December 2008

When Barack Obama is inaugurated next month, thousands of African Americans who risked their lives in the civil rights movement will flock to Washington to witness the moment.

Among the vast crowds, none will feel more proud than a small group of black pioneers who faced down violent mobs more than 50 years ago when they struggled to end racial segregation in schools.

Beaten, kicked, spat at, threatened with death and abused daily for months after enrolling in a white high school in Arkansas, the "Little Rock Nine" have been invited as honoured guests to perhaps the most eagerly awaited inauguration in American history.