SLCL Black History Celebration Presents Little Rock Nine Member Carlotta Walls LaNier

St. Louis County Library’s Black History Celebration presents the 2023 Frankie Freeman Inspirational Address with civil rights leader and Little Rock Nine member Carlotta Walls LaNier, author of “A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School.”

The event will take place on Friday, February 17, at 7:00 p.m. at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd. St. Louis MO 63117.

The program is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase at the event from Left Bank Books.

The theme for the Library’s 2023 Black History Celebration is “Celebrating Black Resistance to Injustice.” The event with Carlotta Walls LaNier is the 2023 Frankie Freeman Inspirational Lecture, named in honor of legendary St. Louis civil rights attorney Frankie Freeman. 

As part of the evening’s presentation, the 2023 Frankie Freeman Inspiration Award will be presented to Dr. Will Ross, Associate Dean of Diversity at Washington University, Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine, Nephrology and Principal Officer for Community Partnerships. Dr. Ross is founder of the Saturday Neighborhood Health Clinic, a free service for those in underserved areas.

When 14-year-old Carlotta Walls walked up the stairs of Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957, she and eight other black students only wanted to make it to class. But the journey of the “Little Rock Nine,” as they came to be known, would lead the nation on an even longer and much more turbulent path, one that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the landscape of America.
 
For Carlotta and the eight other children, simply getting through the door of this admired academic institution involved angry mobs, racist elected officials, and intervention by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was forced to send in the 101st Airborne to escort the Nine into the building. But entry was simply the first of many trials. Carlotta’s memoir, “A Mighty Long Way,” is a testament not only to the power of a single person to make a difference but also to the sacrifices made by families and communities that found themselves a part of history.

After graduating from Little Rock Central High School in 1960, Carlotta Walls graduated from Colorado State College, which has awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In addition to receiving the Congressional Gold Medal and the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, awarded to her as a member of the Little Rock Nine, Carlotta Walls LaNier is an inductee in the 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.

Program sites are accessible. With at least two weeks' notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Call 314-994-3300 or contact us.