Ernest Green was the oldest member of the Nine. He was a senior. Terrence Roberts was a humorous junior. Jefferson Thomas was a soft-spoken athlete at the top of his class in his previous school. Elizabeth Eckford was a petite, private girl who took her studies very seriously. Thelma Mothershed was a small girl who had a very serious heart problem that made it hard for her to breathe. She had to keep this a secret in order to have been able to go to the high school. Minnijean Brown was best friends with another member of the Nine, Melba Pattillo, who was small, determined, and friendly. Carlotta Walls was an optimistic athlete, and Gloria Ray was a very intense person, meticulous with her work.
The Little Rock Nine were supposed to have their first day at Little Rock Central High on September 4, 1957, but Arkansas governor Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to shut out all of the colored students attempting to enter the school. Elizabeth Eckford was trapped between the enormous mob of angry parents and the soldiers. The other eight never made it through the crowd to get near the building. On September 23, 1957, President Eisenhower ordered armed paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the Supreme Court decision in the case Brown vs. Board of Education. That day was the first time the Nine entered the school. This was significant, but they had to leave early due to fear of escalated mob violence. September 25 was the first full day of classes for the students.
As you could imagine, the white students did not welcome these new people. Harsh insults met them everyday, all day long. Teachers slapped and spit on them. Students tripped and shoved them. There were even incidents where students would trap the Nine in bathroom stalls and throw flaming wads of paper into the stall, burning the child stuck in the stall. Melba Pattillo had acid thrown into her eyes that would have blinded her. The Nine were pushed down stairwells, kicked, and mocked, but they stood strong for what they believed in.
As the story of the Little Rock Nine spread throughout the nation, it showed other states how serious the government was about integration and equality. It acted as sort of a “wake up call” to inform the citizens that integration will happen, did happen, and still is happening. The Little Rock Nine gave power to those that were forced to believe they had no power, and hope to those who were told to have no hope. It was a tragic, yet successful story that inspired many civil rights leaders to keep fighting. They did it. They powered through, and it encouraged others to do the same.
Through all of the hardships they faced in high school, every member of the Little Rock Nine graduated from high school and college. Ernest Green was the first black student to graduate from Central High. He graduated from Michigan State University and worked as an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs. He is now a managing partner and a vice president for the Lehman Brothers. Elizabeth Eckford still lives in Little Rock and is now a part-time social worker. Jefferson Thomas served in the army in Vietnam, but died in 2010 when he was 67 due to pancreatic cancer. Terrence Roberts works at the University of California in Los Angeles, and is a clinical psychologist. Carlotta Walls graduated from Michigan State University and is a realtor in Colorado. Minnijean Brown was expelled from Central High for shouting at a white girl and now works as a writer and a social worker in Ontario. Gloria Karlmark graduated from ITC and published a magazine in 39 countries. Thelma Mothershed graduated from college and became a teacher. Finally, Melba Beals is an author and a former journalist for People magazine and NBC.
On May 19, 2015, the Little Rock Nine received the Lincoln Leadership Prize from the Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. Six members, (Mr. Jefferson Thomas passed away in 2010 of pancreatic cancer. The eight other members of the Little Rock Nine live throughout the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands), met in Springfield, Illinois to tour Lincoln’s Presidential Museum and see the Emancipation Proclamation. They spoke about their experiences and had a brief question and answer opportunity as well.