LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Events throughout the weekend will be held to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine.
On Friday morning, five of the former students continued to reflect on the difference they made but said that the fight for change is far from over.
When those nine black students walked through the doors of Central High School in Little Rock in 1957, they officially ended school segregation in Arkansas.
"Nine teenagers believing that they could change the world and we look around and we did have an impact on changing the world," said Ernest Green, one of the former students.
Although the impact is still being felt today, the group said that the work in society is far from over.
"I think in essence, the same issues, maybe different names, but the issues haven't changed," said Dr. Terrence Roberts.
Dr. Roberts said it's hard to believe so many people aren't actively involved in the fight for social justice these days when there are so many issues surrounding race and inequality.
"99% of it has yet to be done. We haven't really made many strides and that's a function of people who are aware of what's going on but are unwilling to confront the issues," Dr. Roberts said.
Now, the group of activists proposed a challenge to those, specifically the youth, who want to make a change.
"We're in a better position than ever to get rid of some of the ignorance to replace it with true knowledge," Gloria Karlmark, another member of the group said.
"The main thing that we learned as young people ourselves is that you don't give up," Ernest Green said.