In 1957, 14-year-old Carlotta Walls was the youngest Little Rock Nine member to integrate Central High School. She and eight other Black students faced angry mobs, racist elected officials, and federal intervention by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was forced to send in the 101st Airborne to escort the Nine safely into the building. Little did she realize that day that this was the beginning of a journey that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the social landscape of America.

After graduating from Little Rock Central High School in 1960, Carlotta Walls attended Michigan State University and graduated from Colorado State College—now the University of Northern Colorado, which has awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters and on whose board of trustees she sits. In addition to receiving the Congressional Gold Medal and the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, Carlotta Walls LaNier is an inductee in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, Girl Scouts Women of Distinction, and the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She serves as president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, created to promote equality of opportunity for all, particularly in the field of education.

BAM Guest Speakers

The Brooklyn Academy of Music hosted its 39th annual celebration of the life and legacy of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, January 20 before a full house. Despite frigid temperatures, hundreds filled the BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House to hear inspiring words from New York leaders on this page; join in the revelry of Troy Anthony’s revolutionary Fire Ensemble Community Choir and absorb the special message of keynote speaker Carlotta Walls LaNier, a daughter of King’s Civil Rights Movement and the youngest member of The Little Rock 9.

Among the event guest speakers were New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso; Councilwoman Cheryl Hudson, NYC Cultural Arts Commissioner Laurie Cumbo; NYC City Council speaker Adrienne Adams; U.S. Rep Nydia Velazquez and (by video) Sen. Chuck Schumer, who was in Washington, DC for the presidential inauguration, along with Mayor Eric Adams, and others

Speeches by Dr. LaNier on the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on her life, and others will be placed in Our Time Press’ Black History Month special editions.