While watching the documentary on the Civil Rights Movement for class last week I started to think more about the Little Rock Nine. They had always been an element of any class discussion or lesson on the Civil Rights Movement but I wondered what did they go on to do after graduating high school. A quick Google search uncovered an article from September of 2017 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock.
Melba Pattillo Beals became a journalist and now teaches Communication at Dominican University.
Carlotta Walls Lanier is now the president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation along with being a real estate broker and running a company with her son.
Elizabeth Eckford dedicated her career to the military serving in a variety of capacities.
Ernest Green became an influential financial broker on Wall Street.
Gloria Ray Karlmark worked in journalism and telecommunications.
Jefferson Thomas served in the army and ran a family business. He passed away in 2010 from cancer.
Minnijean Brown Trickey was a social activist and an assistant secretary at the Department of the Interior.
Terrence J. Roberts was the CEO of his own management consultant firm.
Thelma Mothershed-Wair worked in a juvenile detention facility and in the field of education.
Many of them also received advanced from prestigious universities, which are outlined in the article linked below. I found reading about them further to be inspirational and uplifting. They all seemed to lead very successful lives after their difficult high school transition. I am glad I looked into this further because it showed that they were able to do good things after they played their role in the battle for integration.
https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/little-rock-nine-where-are-they-now