Student paved road to integration

Coloradan with Little Rock Nine recounts abuse

By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 23, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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LaNier has been a Denver real estate broker for 30 years.

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At 14, Carlotta Walls LaNier walked through the doors of a Little Rock, Ark. high school and into history.

Accompanied by soldiers for protection, LaNier and eight other black students integrated Central High School in 1957, running a gauntlet of hatred for a chance at a better education.

"I passed the school every day, and I knew what that school represented," said LaNier, who has been a Denver-area real estate broker for 30 years. "I knew the kids who graduated from there went to schools back East and Big 10 colleges. I wanted a piece of that, that's all."

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregated classrooms unconstitutional, and integration began in cities across the nation. The Little Rock Nine, as they came to be known - LaNier, Melba Patillo Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Minnijean Brown Trickey and Thelma Mothershed Wair - arrived at Central High to find the doors blocked by the Arkansas National Guard under orders from Gov. Orval Faubus.

"No one knew that what took place was going to take place," LaNier said. "I was very disappointed that we could not go to school that day."

When a federal court ordered the soldiers removed, a mob of 1,000 showed up to take their place, cursing and spitting at the teenagers.

"In my 14-year-old mind, those were ignorant people," LaNier said. "I was not about to stoop to their level and acknowledge their existence. I refused to do that. That's what carried me through the whole time. I knew I was just as good as the next person."

President Eisenhower sent in the Army, and LaNier and the eight other black students entered Central High under protection of the 101st Airborne on Sept. 25, 1957. Federalized Arkansas National Guardsmen stayed throughout the year, but their presence did nothing to stop daily harassment and abuse.

"Some people considered me nonexistent. Some made it their daily job to make me miserable," LaNier said. "There were a few who gave you smiles that you knew, under different circumstances, might be considered a friend. It could have easily been that way, if not the political agenda of the governor."

After that first year, Faubus shut down the city's high schools rather than comply with desegregation. LaNier spent a year taking correspondence courses from the University of Arkansas. And when Central High reopened in 1959, she went back for her senior year.

"I really could have gone somewhere else," LaNier said. "But deep down, I needed that sheet of paper that said I graduated from there."

She attended Michigan State University for two years before moving with her family to Denver. She eventually earned a bachelor's degree from Colorado State College - now the University of Northern Colorado - and went on to found her own real estate brokerage.

In 1999, the Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their courage, and they established the Little Rock Nine Foundation, which LaNier leads.

At a 50th anniversary celebration last year, all nine returned to Central High, the only working school designated a National Historic Site.

"When I see all races and all religions going to school together," LaNier said, "I know that what we did 50 years ago was the right thing to do."

ryckmanl@RockyMountainNews.com

Celebrating the group

The Iliff School of Theology is honoring the Little Rock Nine with events during Black History Month.

Little Rock Nine Interfaith Gathering

* Sunday at 4 p.m.

* Congregation Emanuel, 51 Grape St., Denver

* An interfaith service with members of the group present, featuring commentaries, a video and song. Co-sponsored by more than 15 religious organizations.

* Admission is free, ticket required. Call 303-765-3111

Celebration of Courage Film Festival

* Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.

* Starz FilmCenter, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver

* Two evenings of films and talk with members of the Nine. Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown and the Oscar award-winning 1964 documentary Nine From Little Rock will be featured Feb. 26. Nothing but a Man will be shown Feb. 27.

* Cost is $5. More info at 303-595-3456 or denverfilm.org

* Heroes and Sheroes: The Story of the Little Rock Nine Exhibit, photos and hands-on items showcasing the civil rights legacy of the Little Rock Nine

* Through February at Wells Fargo Bank, 1740 Broadway, Denver

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