Elizabeth Eckford is Still Serving 62 Years Later

"The Worst First Day: Bullied While Desegregating Central High" by Civil Rights Icon Elizabeth Eckford of the Little Rock Nine, Dr. Eurydice Stanley and high school junior Grace Stanley was announced as the gold award winner of the Readers' Favorite Children's Book Award September 1, 2019 in the 4th-6th grade category. The international competition garnered thousands of entries from over a dozen countries, ranging from new independent authors to New York Times best sellers. The Readers' Favorite competition has 140 categories.

The timing of the award is particularly significant, as September 4th marks the anniversary of Eckford's first attempt to desegregate Central High in 1957. Sixty-two years after Eckford was blocked from entering the school by enraged segregationists and armed Arkansas National Guard Soldiers, she travels around the world with her coauthors presenting experiences from her book to fight against bullying, racism and discrimination. In "The Worst First Day," civil rights history is leveraged to provide a critical anti-bullying message that is personal, relevant and timely. Readers are encouraged to follow Eckford's lead and #WalkPastHate.

Eckford's autobiography tells the incredible story of the physical and psychological trauma she and other members of the Little Rock Nine endured at Central High. Their tenacity helped implement the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision which desegregated America's schools. "We knew there were countless others depending on us," noted Eckford. "We stayed for them."

In the past year and a half since the book was published, the authors travelled extensively telling Eckford's story. Recently, the authors travelled to New Zealand to present to nearly 4,000 high school students representing 85 schools at 10 different locations across the country (https://youtu.be/y6mcPPtBGd0). Their message is applicable for corporations as well as schools, utilizing Eckford's story to illustrate the impact of apathy on organizations. "Of the 1,900 students at Central, I believe we were attacked by 200 students," said Eckford. "The inaction of the students who turned their heads hurt far more than the attacks."

Readers can learn more about "The Worst First Day" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-worst-first-day where they can read reviews, author biographies and connect with the authors directly. The Worst First Day is available on Amazon at bit.ly/worst1st. The authors can also be reached via their website at https://worstfirstday.com.

The Readers' Favorite Award will be presented November 23rd in Miami, Florida.