by Farai Chideya

Little Rock Nine
AFP/Getty Images

Nine black children — three boys and six girls — are escorted by U.S. paratroopers in full battle dress in September 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Fifty years ago today, the unstoppable force of social change met the immovable object of segregated Southern culture.

Black high school students known as the "Little Rock Nine" were scheduled to enter and desegregate the all-white Arkansas Central High School. But the Arkansas National Guard, under state orders, turn them away.

Of course now we know how the story ended... that the immovable object crumbled under the weight of legal and social change.

But that day, as those black students — particularly Elizabeth Eckford — faced down jeering students and stony guardsmen — history was not written.

One of our NPR sister shows, Day to Day, has created a timeline of the events in 1957.

And we'll be following the half-century-mark of these crucial events.

In the coming weeks, we'll be bringing you original coverage in the lead-up to and on the day of the anniversary when the Little Rock Nine reached their goal...enrolling in Central High School, and helping to put the nail in the coffin of legalized school segregation.

Of course, as we cover often on our program, many schools today are not de facto desegregated ... so what do YOU see when you look back at the story of the Little Rock Nine, and the question of how far we've come?

And if you yourself helped desegregate a local school, we'd love to hear from you.