Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was an American civil rights activist, publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957.

1957: As the leader of NAACP branch in Arkansas, Bates guided and advised the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they attempted to enroll in 1957 at Little Rock Central High School, a previously all-white institution.
1959: The Bates' involvement in the Little Rock Crisis resulted in the loss of much advertising revenue to their newspaper, and it was forced to close in 1959.
1960: In 1960, Daisy Bates moved to New York City and wrote her memoir, The Long Shadow of Little Rock, which won a 1988 National Book Award.
1962: The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir written by Daisy Bates was first published in 1962.
1968: In 1968 she moved to the rural black community of Mitchellville in Desha County, eastern Arkansas.
1998: In 1998, a spokeswoman for Bates stated that Bates had felt guilty for her failure to notify one of the young ladies, Elizabeth Eckford, that they were delaying the entrance into Central High School.
1999: Bates died in Little Rock on November 4, 1999.