Carlotta Walls LaNier woke up on September 4, 1957, with the typical first-day-of-school jitters. Questions raced through the 14-year-old’s mind as she put on her brand-new dress and prepared to walk over to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Would she make new friends? Would she get lost looking for her classes? Would she have a lot of homework?
But when LaNier, who was then just Carlotta Walls, approached the school that day, she came face-to-face with something far more upsetting than anything she’d ever imagined: a vicious mob.
LaNier was part of a small group of Black students who’d been selected, based on their academic records, to integrate Central High. But a crowd of more than 1,000 angry segregationists—including many White students and their parents—had gathered outside the school that morning to try and stop them. They chanted, “Two, four, six, eight, we ain’t gonna integrate!” They spat on the Black students, hurled racist epithets at them, and threatened to lynch them.
Carlotta Walls LaNier woke up on September 4, 1957, with the typical first-day-of-school jitters. She got up and prepared to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Questions raced through the 14-year-old’s mind as she put on her brand-new dress. Would she make new friends? Would she get lost looking for her classes? Would she have a lot of homework?
Back then, LaNier was just Carlotta Walls. And her first day of school was far more upsetting than anything she’d ever imagined. In fact, when she approached the school that day, she came face-to-face with a vicious mob.
LaNier was part of a small group of Black students chosen to integrate Central High. They had been selected based on their academic records. But a crowd of more than 1,000 angry segregationists had gathered outside the school that morning to try and stop them. Many White students and their parents were part of the group. They chanted, “Two, four, six, eight, we ain’t gonna integrate!” They also spat on the Black students, hurled racist insults at them, and threatened to lynch them.