THE CONTRERAS REPORT: From Little Rock to MAGA: The Long Shadow of American Racism

Former Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus will be remembered as the white man who defied President Dwight D. Eisenhower over whether Black children should attend public schools. Faubus opposed integration, despite court rulings, claiming it was his duty to maintain segregation.

Raoul Lowery Contreras

In 1957, when federal courts ordered the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School, Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to block Black students. In response, Eisenhower federalized the Guard, sent them home, and deployed the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the court’s orders. With fixed bayonets, they escorted the “Little Rock Nine” into school—marking a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement.

That year sparked a broader movement, culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These victories, championed by President Lyndon Johnson with strong support from civil rights Republicans, dealt a serious blow to Jim Crow laws.

But racism did not die—it mutated. The long-buried ideology of the “Know Nothings”—a group rooted in anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, and anti-Black sentiments—resurfaced, later cloaked by decades of Republican leadership under Nixon, Reagan, both Bushes, and Donald Trump.

Historically, the Know Nothings aligned with white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan—formed by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was responsible for the massacre of surrendered Black Union soldiers at Fort Pillow. The Klan and its allies murdered thousands of Black Americans and terrorized communities across the country, including in Springfield, Omaha, Los Angeles, and the South.

Los Angeles itself was stained by injustice. In the 1940s, corrupt police and prosecutors railroaded Mexican Americans for gang-related murders in rigged trials, with the Los Angeles Times complicit in the convictions. Later, California Governor Earl Warren, who became Chief Justice, led the Supreme Court in dismantling segregation—starting with Little Rock.

Today, a new threat looms. In 2025, Donald Trump and his allies, including VP JD Vance and Elon Musk, push executive decrees and challenge court authority, echoing the rhetoric of 1861 secessionists. Vance, who calls himself a “hillbilly,” suggests Trump might ignore judicial rulings. But like the Confederacy before them, they too will fail.

As Muslims say: “It is written.”

About the author

Raoul Lowery Contreras was born in Mexico City and raised and educated in San Diego, CA at San Diego State University in Political Science and History. He served in the United States Marine Corps (1959-1967), assistant and speechwriter for a California State Assemblyman, campaign consultant for United States Senator Thomas Kuchel (CA), and a campaign consultant for Darrell Issa (CA 2000). He is a columnist distributed by Creators Syndicate and New York Times Syndicate (New American News Service) and a retired banker. He is the author of Murder in the Mountains.