Title: Oral History Interview with Orval Faubus, June 14, 1974. Interview A-0031.
Identifier: A-0031
Interviewer: DeVries, Walter
Interviewee: Faubus, Orval
Subjects: African Americans--Political activity Arkansas--Politics and government Bumpers, Dale, 1925- Democratic Party (Ark.) Fulbright, J. William (James William), 1905- Rockefeller, Winthrop, 1912-1973 Governors--Arkansas Long, Huey Pierce, 1893-1935 Press and politics--Arkansas School integration--Arkansas
Extent: 01:35:30
Abstract: Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus reflects on the effects of his twelve-year tenure in the governor's mansion, state politics, and, of course, desegregation. Faubus paints himself as a populist who helped rescue Arkansas from backwardness with social programs and infrastructure. Merciless mischaracterizations from a lazy and hostile press have sullied his legacy, he claims, ignoring his many accomplishments and obscuring the true story of what happened on the courthouse steps in 1957. This interview will be useful to researchers interested in Arkansas politics in the middle of the twentieth century, the rising influence of the media in politics, and desegregation.