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Keynote Presentation Carlotta Walls LaNier Little Rock Nine The effort to integrate Central High School in Little Rock has been referred to by some historians as the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War.

Ms. LaNier spoke about her experience as one of the nine black students instrumental in the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. The nine students were known as the Little Rock Nine. She said that the Little Rock plan to integrate the schools was not being implemented and needed a push from the outside, which came from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the nine black students, and the support of the U.S. Supreme Court. She described the events surrounding the entrance of the nine students into the high school and during the first year after that.

Ms. LaNier gave examples of the discrimination in the South that led up to the actions of the Little Rock Nine:
• Blacks were integrated into white baseball teams and becoming successful, yet black students could not study with white students.

• Blacks could not try on clothing in the department stores in the South nor use the same water fountains and bathrooms as whites.

• There were huge disparities between the quality of the schools for white and black students, which meant a lack of access to opportunity for blacks.

She then described how Central High School is successfully integrated today with 50 percent of the student body being minority. She emphasized the importance of human beings as all very similar and that we need to “see ourselves in every other human being and to respect and honor our differences.”

In response to a question from the audience, Ms. LaNier said that she got validation for her actions toward integration of Central High School from her family, some of her teachers, the church, and various other community activities that she was involved in.

BIOGRAPHY

In 1957, at age 14, Carlotta Walls LaNier and eight other black students integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. This act of courage and defiance became the catalyst for change in the American educational system. By ushering in a new order, the Little Rock Nine, as they would eventually be called, became 'foot soldiers' for freedom.

But it was injustice of the American system that forced Carlotta and her family to relocate to Colorado. Concerns for family safety and continued employment persuaded the family, in 1962, to consider Denver as a city offering greater access to opportunities. By this time, Carlotta had graduated from Central High School and had completed two years of college at Michigan State University. In 1968, she earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and accepted a position as Y-Teen Director at the Denver YWCA as her first professional job.

Since then, she has married, raised two children (Whitney and Brooke) who both graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, founded her own real estate company, and has worked 30 years as a Real Estate Broker, currently with Cherry Creek Realtors.

An active supporter of her community, Carlotta has given generously of her time and energies. Her board memberships have included:
• Board of Trustees for Iliff School of Theology (currently)
• Little Rock Nine Foundation (President)
• Colorado Aid Project
• Park Hill United Methodist Church Board of Trustees
• Jack and Jill of America
• National Diversity Council for Youth Committee

Awards have included:
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters-University of Northern Colorado
• 1958 Spingarn Medal (NAACP)
• 2000 Women of Distinction (Girl Scouts)
• NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Award
•¨Drum Major for Justice (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
• Human Rights Award (Cherry Creek High School Diversity Council)

In 1997, the Little Rock Nine returned to Central High for a 40th Anniversary Celebration. In a symbolic and emotional gesture, the school's Principal, Mayor, Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States on this occasion, opened the doors of Central, which had been blocked by the National Guard in 1957.

On November 9, 1999, in a ceremony held at the White House, members of Congress and President William Jefferson Clinton bestowed upon Carlotta Walls LaNier among the Little Rock Nine the nation's highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, for their sacrifice and contribution to the cause of equality.