Tag Archives: Little Rock Nine

Little Rock Look Forward: LR 9 Foundation establishes Clinton School Scholarship

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clinton-school-logoThough normally there are “Little Rock Look Back” posts, this one is truly more a look to the future.

Today the Little Rock Nine Foundation, which has awarded scholarships to deserving young people for the past 16 years, has set up a scholarship fund at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service to continue the foundation’s legacy. The Foundation was established in 1997 and since that time has awarded 60 college scholarships to high school students all over the United States.

“Because of our great appreciation for President Clinton, and in recognition of the extraordinary public service work performed by Clinton School students, we have now decided to make the Clinton School our educational philanthropic focus,” said Carlotta Walls Lanier, the foundation’s spokesperson. “The Clinton School prepares its students in the global arena and what better way to keep our story alive than through those we assist.”

Nine African American students–Lanier, Melba Pattillo Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Thelma Mothershed Wair and the late Jefferson Thomas became known as the Little Rock Nine when they integrated  Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The resistance of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and protests by large groups of segregations forced the intervention of President Dwight Eisenhower who the sent the military’s finest, the 102 Airborne Division, to protect the students.

It was an historical moment and was the first the time the President of the United States sent the military to enforce a United States Supreme Court order, in this case the historic Brown v. The Board of Education decision.

“We are honored and are most grateful to the Little Rock Nine for the establishment of this scholarship fund,” said Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford. “Over the years the Little Rock Nine–as a group and individually–have participated in Clinton School programs and met with our students. Spirit Trickey, the daughter of Minnijean Brown Trickey, is one of our graduates.”

The Clinton School is the nation’s first to offer a Master of Public Service (MPS) degree. It is located on the campus of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock.

Harry Belafonte and the Little Rock Nine

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For the past several years, the Civil Rights Film Festival has presented a film series in conjunction with the commemoration of the September 25, 1957, integration of Little Rock Central High School by the Little Rock Nine.  One of the highlights of this year’s festival will be an appearance by Tony Award winning actor and humanitarian Harry Belafonte tonight.

Though the event is sold out, it is an important event and deserves mention.

Those with tickets will be able to see a screening of Harry Belafonte’s documentary, Sing Your Song: The Music, Hope and Vision of a Man and an Era, guest remarks by Mr. Belafonte; and an awards ceremony to honor both the Little Rock Nine and Belafonte.

Mr. Belafonte was a trailblazer as a theatre and film actor and recording artist.  He broke the color barrier in almost everything he did.  He became the first African American male actor to win a Tony Award for his performance in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.

Here is more about the movie, which is being presented in conjunction with the Little Rock Film Festival.

Sing Your Song (2011) (105 min). Directed by Susanne Rostock. An up close look at a great American, Harry Belafonte. A patriot to the last and a champion for worldwide human rights, Belafonte is one of the truly heroic cultural and political figures of the past 60 years. Told from Harry’s point of view, the film charts his life from a boy born in New York and raised in Jamaica, who returns to Harlem in his early teens where he discovers the American Negro Theater and the magic of performing. From there the film follows Belafonte’s rise from the jazz and folk clubs of Greenwich Village and Harlem to his emergence as a star. However, even as a superstar, the life of a black man in 1960s America was far from easy and Belafonte was confronted with the same Jim Crow laws and prejudices that every other black man, woman and child in America was facing.

Sculpture Vulture: LR Central High Statues

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Today the Sculpture Vulture focuses on the four statues which stand abreast above the entrance to Little Rock Central High School. They have watched over students and faculty for 85 years since the school’s opening in 1927.

They also witnessed the historic integration by the Little Rock Nine on September 25, 1957. The 55th anniversary of those events is being marked this week.

The statues represent Ambition, Personality, Opportunity and Preparation. At the 1927 dedication service Lillian McDermott, then the president of the School Board, claimed that the new school “would stand…for decades to come [as] a public school where Ambition is fired, where Personality is developed, where Opportunity is presented and where Preparation in the solution of life’s problems is begun.”

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Sculpture Vulture: TESTAMENT

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Today’s highlighted sculpture sits on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol.  Testament honors the Little Rock Nine who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

The statues face the Arkansas State Capitol including the Governor’s Office. The irony is that, in 1957, then-Governor Orval Faubus led the efforts to keep Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls from entering the school.

Dedicated in August 2005, Testament was created by John Deering working with Kathy Deering and Steve Scallion.  The project was over seven years in the making from the original concept to the  unveiling.

The bronze sculptures are life-size and depict the students moving forward.  They are dressed in school clothes and carry their books.  Around the perimeter of the sculpture is a series of quotes, one from each of the nine.

(It is appropriate to discuss this sculpture today, since the Oscars are presented tonight (2/26/12). The 1964 Oscar for Best Documentary — Short Subject was awarded for the film Nine from Little Rock.)