Mr. and Mrs. L.C. Bates
Negative taken of Daisy and L.C. Bates with two unidentified men in suits, October, 1956. Daisy Lee Gatson Bates (born November 11, 1914, at Huttig, Union County, Arkansas, and died Thursday, November 4, 1999 in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas) was the daughter of Hezekiah "Babe" Gatson and Millie Riley. Daisy married at age 15 to Lucius Christopher Bates (born April 27, 1901, in Mississippi and died August 1980 in Little Rock). Daisy Bates graduated from high school after their marriage. The Bates moved to Little Rock in 1941, where they edited and published one of the first weekly black newspaper in Arkansas, the Arkansas State Press. She was a civil rights leader who came into the national spotlight in 1957 during the desegregation crisis at Central High School in Little Rock. The Bates were active in the Arkansas Conference of the NAACP movement, which she served for a time as president. For her contributions to the civil rights movement, Mrs. Bates received a commendation from the Arkansas General Assembly, the Diamond Cross of Malta from the Philadelphia Cotillion Society and was named an honorary citizen of Philadelphia. She also received an honorary degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. In 1962, Mrs. Bates published her memoir, The Long Shadow of Little Rock, which was reprinted in 1988 and received the American Book Award. Mr. Bates was the field representative in Arkansas for the NAACP from 1960 to 1971
Image, No Linguistic Content, 1956