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America 250: Youngest Little Rock Nine member reflects on a fight to end school segregation
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine reflects on the courage, sacrifice, and lasting impact of integrating Little Rock Central High School during the Civil Rights Movement
Anchor/Reporter
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. —
In 1957, nine Black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, faced hostility and resistance as they integrated Little Rock Central High School, testing the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling and reshaping America’s fight for equality.
Carlotta Walls LaNier, who was just 14 years old at the time, became the youngest member of the group.
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“Nine of us with nine stories, none greater or lesser than the other, but different, and this is mine,” LaNier said.
LaNier said she felt justified in her decision to attend the school.
“I knew I had a right to be here based on Brown vs. Board of Education,” she said.
When the students arrived on campus, they were met with an angry mob and were turned away by the Arkansas National Guard.
“That was my scariest day. I can still feel that rush of going up that ramp,” LaNier said.
Weeks later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened, federalizing the National Guard and deploying the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students into the school. More than 1,000 guard members lined the campus as the students entered class.
“When they found out that we were in here, kids was jumping out of windows. People were screaming, you know, come out, don’t go to school with those N’s,” LaNier said.
In an effort to block desegregation, the Arkansas governor closed all city high schools for a year. When they reopened, LaNier returned, becoming one of only two members of the Little Rock 9 to graduate from Central High School.
“I needed that diploma to validate all that I had gone through,” she said.
LaNier reflected on the broader impact of the events, saying, “The Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Housing Act, all of those acts came out of that Brown versus Board of Education.”
As the country approaches its 250th anniversary, LaNier emphasized the importance of reflection and unity.
“Think about what we can do to hold those true to us, true to We the People, because this is our country, all of us,” she said.
The Little Rock Nine paid a personal price for their belief in the U.S. Constitution, but their courage helped push the nation toward justice for all.
