Little Rock Nine remain
meaningful, sixty years
Iliff’s “Little Rock Nine Scholarship” celebrates legacy every year
Today marks the day in 1957 when nine African-American teenagers entered Little Rock Central High School as part of national desegregation efforts; they were protected from an angry white mob by the Arkansas National Guard sent by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Little Rock Nine endured a year marked by terror as they were taunted, jeered, kicked, and spat upon. But, they did endure, and their heroism has entered our national story. Iliff marked the anniversary a decade ago by establishing a justice and peace scholarship with the help of our trustee and member of our Iliff President’s Advisory Council Carlotta LaNier, who was one of the Nine. That gift is going strong. Since the “Little Rock Nine Scholarship” was first awarded in 2008, it has been given to seventeen of our students of color with concentrations in peace and justice. The legacy established at that celebration in 2007 has made a difference in each of these lives and the lives of those they have since touched.
We’re proud to once again mark this anniversary with ten more years of education in justice and peace, a fitting tribute to these brave men and women.
Further Reading
- The Denver Post story about the Iliff gathering in 2007 that began the scholarship fund and commemorated the 50th anniversary.
- Here is today’s 2017 Denver Post story about the lingering segregation in our schools.
- Read here about the events at Central High for the 60th anniversary.
- This story offers a profile of each of the Nine, including our trustee and member of the Iliff President’s Advisory Council, Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest of the group.