AR SR13

Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was born in Huttig, Arkansas on November 11, 1914, and became a renowned human and civil rights activist.

In 1941, Ms. Bates and her husband L. C. Bates established the Arkansas State Press, the most influential African-American newspaper in the civil rights movement in Arkansas.

In 1957, Ms. Bates became the advisor to the Little Rock Nine, the first group of African-American students to integrate Arkansas' public schools at Central High School.

In 2001, the General Assembly designated the third Monday in February as Daisy Gatson Bates Day, and 14th Street in Little Rock was renamed Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive in her honor.

The Senate honors the memory of Ms. Daisy Lee Gatson Bates and celebrates her life and achievements on February 21, 2011, as Daisy Gatson Bates Day.