Who were the Little Rock Nine?

The Little Rock Nine were nine African American teenagers
who were the first blacks to be admitted to Central High School in Little Rock,
Arkansas, after the Supreme Court's desegregation ruling.  The Little Rock Nine faced
tremendous opposition from whites in Little Rock.  The opposition was bad enough that
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to nationalize the Arkansas National Guard and
order them to protect the Nine and to ensure that they would be allowed to integrate the
school.

This incident happened in 1957.  It is generally
considered to be one of the most important incidents of the Civil Rights
Movement.

The nine students
were:

...
sixteen-year-old Minnie Jean Brown, Ernest Green, and Selma Mothershead;
fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Eckford, Jane Hill, and Terrence Roberts; and
fourteen-year-old Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta
Walls.