As the former president of the Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP, Bates was involved deeply in desegregated events. Even though in 1954 the United States Supreme Court decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" made all the segregated schools illegal, the schools in Arkansas refused to enroll African American students. Bates and her husband tried to fight against the situation in their newspaper. The "Arkansas State Press" became a fervent supporter of the NAACP's integrated public school events. The "State Press" editorialized, "We feel that the proper approach would be for the leaders among the Negro race—not clabber mouths, Uncle Toms, or grinning appeasers to get together and counsel with the school heads." Concerning the policy of academic desegregation, the "State Press" cultivated a spirit of immediatism within the hearts of African-American and white citizens. Opposite to gradual approach, this newspaper mainly wanted immediate reform in Arkansas's educational system. The "Arkansas State Press" reported that the NAACP was the lead organizer in these protest events, and the newspaper also tended to enlarge national influence to let more people get involved in the educational events in Little Rock.