Little Rock Nine Speak Abourt 1957 Integration Struggle

By David Pitts
USIA Staff Writer

Elizabeth Eckford was the only one of the Nine not to attend the news conference. She had been overcome by emotion earlier in the day while attending a church service.

The struggle in 1957 "was not so much about integration, as about access," said Melba Beals, who wrote a book about her experience as one of the first nine black students at Central High School. "We wanted access to a good education and a good future." There are still "too many people with insufficient access," to educational opportunity.

Her sentiment was echoed by Ernest Green who said that the Little Rock Nine knew that education could make a difference. "We wanted to widen options for ourselves and later for our children."

Jefferson Thomas noted the progress Little Rock has made in race relations and the steps that still need to be taken. "You're on the way to recovery," he said, addressing the city. "You're on the right path."

Asked how the Little Rock Nine were chosen, Beals explained that the decision was made by the local school board. "There were 117 candidates at first," she said. That was narrowed down to the nine by taking into account their grades and their likely ability to withstand the taunts of their white classmates, she added.

Carlotta Lanier praised the media for bringing the story of the "Little Rock Nine" to the attention of the nation and the world. She said newspapers and television did "a good job," of reporting the crisis.

Some of the Nine spoke of the sacrifices involved in the integration struggle -- not just their personal sacrifices, but also those of their parents. Beals and Gloria Kalmark both said their mothers lost their jobs as a result of their stand.

The Nine applauded President Clinton for coming to Little Rock to appear with them on September 25 and his creation of a commission earlier this year to make recommendations on how to improve race relations in America. "I applaud the creation of the commission and I applaud his coming," said Green, the first of the "Little Rock Nine" to graduate from Central High. Years later, he served as Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Carter administration.

Asked how what it meant to him personally to be a member of the group, Green said he felt a great deal of pride as well as pain. "We were a part not just of civil rights history, but of American history," he remarked. "It's something to see your name in your kid's history book."

The "Little Rock Nine" are:

-- Melba Beals, 55, a communications consultant in Sausalito, California.

-- Elizabeth Eckford, 55, of Little Rock.

-- Ernest Green, 56, an investment banker in Washington, D.C.

-- Gloria Kalmark, 55, a research scientist and patent lawyer in Stockholm, Sweden.

-- Carlotta Lanier, 54, a real estate agent in Denver, Colorado.

-- Terrence Roberts, 55, a clinical psychologist in Pasadena, California.

-- Jefferson Thomas, 55, an accountant in Columbus, Ohio.

-- Minnijean Trickey, 56, a social worker in Ontario, Canada.

-- Thelma Wair, 56, a retired home economics teacher in Belleville, Ilinois.