Thelma Mothershed-Wair (born November 29, 1940) is the eldest member of the Little Rock Nine group who attended Little Rock's Central High School following the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education court case. The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, then Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Wair was born in Bloomburg, Texas and is the daughter of Arlevia and Hosanna Claire Mothershed of Little Rock, Arkansas. Mothershed had five siblings: three sisters and two brothers. She attended Dunbar Junior High and Horace Mann High schools, and despite daily torment from white students at Little Rock Central High School, she completed her junior year at the formerly all-white high school during the tumultuous 1957–58 year. Mothershed was a very successful student, and was able to graduate from Central High in the 1958–59 school year after going out of her way to complete all the necessary credits in order to graduate on time.
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of African American students who began the integration, or the desegregation, of all white schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. This group of brave students were tormented, ridiculed, harassed, and even assaulted daily for simply attending what would now be considered a regular public school. The governor of Little Rock, at the time, was Orval Faubus, and he set up military guards to escort these nine students to and from school, as well as between classes. In an attempt to halt the desegregation of this school, a 'lost year' had occurred, leaving some students stranded unless they were able to take extra courses (like Mothershed did). This did not work, however, and a couple of the Little Rock Nine were still able to obtain their high school diplomas from this once all white school. These original nine students eventually led to the desegregation of all public schools in the area.[1][circular reference]
Since receiving her degrees, Mothershed has worked at the St. Clair County Jail, Juvenile Detention Center in St. Clair County, Illinois, and as an Instructor of Survival Skills for Women at the American Red Cross Second Chance Shelter for the Homeless. During the 1989–90 school year she was honored as an Outstanding Role Model by the East St. Louis Chapter of the Top Ladies of Distinction and the Early Childhood-Pre Kindergarten staff of District 189. She also received the National Humanitarian Award, the highest award given at the 2005 National Convention of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. held in Chicago. Wair and her late husband have one son. In 2003 she moved back to the Little Rock area.[4] She received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2016.[5] on the Carbondale campus.[5] Before earning her honorary degree, Mothershed-Wair had earned her bachelor's degree in home economics from SIU in 1964,[5] completed her master's in guidance and counselling with SIUE in 1970 and achieved an administrative certificate in education from this same university in 1972. “Ms. Wair exemplifies and lives SIUE’s values of wisdom, citizenship, integrity, excellence and inclusion,” SIUE Interim Chancellor Stephen Hansen said. “While SIUE provided her with an education, she in turn taught all of us about courage, justice and dignity.”She showed us she was a true hero.[5]
Family
Thelma Mothershed married Fred Wair on December 26, 1965, and became Thelma Mothershed-Wair. Fred Wair was born on October 6, 1939, and died at age 65 on Wednesday, May 25, 2005, at the River Bluffs Rehab and Nursing Center in Cahokia, Illinois.[6] Thelma and Fred had a single son, Scott Wair. Currently there are no records available on Scott. Scott Wair had two children, Brennan Dallas and Gabriel Scott. Mothershed-Wair currently resides peacefully in her hometown of Little Rock.[6]
Orval Eugene Faubus was an American politician who served as the 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, as a member of the Democratic Party.
Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The school was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. This was during the period of heightened activism in the civil rights movement.
The Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) was an organization formed by a group of socially prominent white women in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas during the Little Rock Crisis in 1958. The organization advocated for the integration of the Little Rock public school system and was a major obstacle to Governor Orval Faubus's efforts to prevent racial integration. The women spoke out in favor of a special election to remove segregationists from the Little Rock school board.
Elizabeth Ann Eckford is an American civil rights activist and one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African American students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The integration came as a result of the 1954 United States Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education. Eckford's public ordeal was captured by press photographers on the morning of September 4, 1957, after she was prevented from entering the school by the Arkansas National Guard. A dramatic snapshot by Will Counts of the Arkansas Democrat showed the young girl being followed and threatened by an angry white mob; this and other photos of the day's startling events were circulated around the US and the world by the press.
Daisy Bates was an American civil rights activist, publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It is the younger of the two major institutions of Southern Illinois University system, and, as of 2018, has the larger enrollment. The university offers graduate programs through its Graduate School.
Minnijean Brown-Trickey is an American political figure who was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African American teenagers who integrated Little Rock Central High School. The integration followed the Brown v. Board of Education decision which required public schools to be desegregated.
Gloria Cecelia Ray Karlmark is a member of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. One of the three children of Harvey C. and Julia Miller Ray, she was 15 when she attempted to enter Little Rock Central High School where she was barred from entering by the Arkansas National Guard, under the order of Governor Orval Faubus who opposed integration. They returned to the school weeks later protected by federal troops.
Ronald Norwood Davies was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. He is best known for his role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis in the fall of 1957. Davies ordered the desegregation of the previously all-white Little Rock Central High.
Melba Joy Patillo Beals is an American journalist and educator who was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of black students who were the first to racially integrate Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
John Samuel Faubus was an American small farmer and founder of one of Arkansas' few chapters of the Socialist Party of America. He was the father of Governor of Arkansas Orval E. Faubus.
The Ernest Green Story is a 1993 American made-for-television biographical film which follows the true story of Ernest Green and eight other African-American high-school students as they embark on their historic journey to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. The film was developed and executive produced by Carol Ann Abrams. Much of the movie was filmed on location at Central High School.
The Daisy Bates House is a historic house at 1207 West 28th Street in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. It is significant as the home of Arkansas NAACP president Daisy Bates, and for its use as a command post for those working to desegregate the Little Rock Central High School during the desegregation crisis of 1957–1958. It was a sanctuary for the nine students involved. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001.
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Mary Brown Williams Ledbetter, better known as Brownie Ledbetter, was a political activist, social justice crusader and lobbyist who was involved in the civil rights, feminist, labor and environmental movements in Arkansas, United States and abroad.
Vivion Mercer Lenon Brewer was an American desegregationist, most notable for being a founding member of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) in 1958 during the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
In the United States, school integration is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and remains an issue in contemporary education. During the Civil Rights Movement school integration became a priority, but since then de facto segregation has again become prevalent.
Woodrow Wilson Mann was an American politician who was the mayor of the capital city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1956 to 1957.
Nancy Pearl Johnson Hall was the first female Arkansas State Treasurer, serving as a Democrat from 1963 to 1981. Prior to becoming Treasurer, Hall was appointed Secretary of State of Arkansas by Governor Orval Faubus in 1961, after the death of her husband, Crip Hall.
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