ERNEST GREEN:
Out of the nine, one man named Ernest Green was the oldest of the group. Ernest Green was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 22, 1941. He was one of the first black student to integrate at Central High School in Little Rock. He was the most respected African American in the school, but still got picked on. He was the first out of the Little Rock Nine to graduate with honors of Central High. He moved on in his life and is now married to Phyllis Green and they have three children, Adam, Jessica and Mckenzie. In a key event of the American Civil Rights Movement, nine black students enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957, testing a landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In September of 1957, the country was changed forever by the “Crisis at Central High”, one of the first federally ordered integration acts. At that time, the United States was a nation of racial inequalities and segregation. When nine courageous black students dared to challenge racial segregation in public schools by enrolling at the all-white Central High School, the “Little Rock Nine” became an integral part of the fight for equal opportunity in America. From 1968 to 1976, he served as Director of the A. Philip Randolph Education Fund. From 1977 to 1981, he served as an Assistant Secretary of Labor during Jimmy Carter's administration. From 1981 to 1985 he was a partner in the firm Green and Herman; from 1985 to 1986 he owned E. Green and Associates. Since 1985, he has been with Lehman Brother, where he was a Managing Director in the fixed income department of the Washington, D.C. firm, focusing on public finance. He is also a board member at the Albert Shanker Institute. Green earned his Eagle Scout Award in 1956 prior to attending Central High. Over 25 years later he received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award which BSA has awarded to fewer than 2000 men who earned Eagle as a Scout. In 2004, he organized the Scoutreach program in Washington, DC and served as the program's volunteer Chair. This program is in its 8th year serving 600 boys in distressed neighborhoods in England.
"They used to call Arkansas 'the land of opportunity,' and black people said, 'Opportunity for whom? Today, we can say 'opportunity for all,' and Arkansas can be proud of this moment."
"We were really ordinary people and we really owe a debt of gratitude to (their adviser) Daisy Bates and to our parents."
Out of the nine, one man named Ernest Green was the oldest of the group. Ernest Green was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 22, 1941. He was one of the first black student to integrate at Central High School in Little Rock. He was the most respected African American in the school, but still got picked on. He was the first out of the Little Rock Nine to graduate with honors of Central High. He moved on in his life and is now married to Phyllis Green and they have three children, Adam, Jessica and Mckenzie. In a key event of the American Civil Rights Movement, nine black students enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957, testing a landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In September of 1957, the country was changed forever by the “Crisis at Central High”, one of the first federally ordered integration acts. At that time, the United States was a nation of racial inequalities and segregation. When nine courageous black students dared to challenge racial segregation in public schools by enrolling at the all-white Central High School, the “Little Rock Nine” became an integral part of the fight for equal opportunity in America. From 1968 to 1976, he served as Director of the A. Philip Randolph Education Fund. From 1977 to 1981, he served as an Assistant Secretary of Labor during Jimmy Carter's administration. From 1981 to 1985 he was a partner in the firm Green and Herman; from 1985 to 1986 he owned E. Green and Associates. Since 1985, he has been with Lehman Brother, where he was a Managing Director in the fixed income department of the Washington, D.C. firm, focusing on public finance. He is also a board member at the Albert Shanker Institute. Green earned his Eagle Scout Award in 1956 prior to attending Central High. Over 25 years later he received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award which BSA has awarded to fewer than 2000 men who earned Eagle as a Scout. In 2004, he organized the Scoutreach program in Washington, DC and served as the program's volunteer Chair. This program is in its 8th year serving 600 boys in distressed neighborhoods in England.
"They used to call Arkansas 'the land of opportunity,' and black people said, 'Opportunity for whom? Today, we can say 'opportunity for all,' and Arkansas can be proud of this moment."
"We were really ordinary people and we really owe a debt of gratitude to (their adviser) Daisy Bates and to our parents."
Other Members of The Little Rock Nine:
Elizabeth Eckford
The only one of the nine still living in Little Rock, Elizabeth made a career of the U.S. Army that included work as a journalist. In 1974, she returned to the home in which she grew up and is now a part-time social worker and mother of two sons.
Jefferson Thomas
He graduated from Central in 1960, following a year in which Little Rock's public high schools were ordered closed by the legislature to prevent desegregation. Today, he is an accountant with the U.S. Department of Defense and lives in Anaheim, Calif.
Dr. Terrence Roberts
Following the historic year at Central, his family moved to Los Angeles where he completed high school. He earned a doctorate degree and teaches at the University of California at Los Angeles and Antioc College. He also is a clinical psychologist.
Carlotta Walls Lanier
One of only three of the nine who eventually graduated from Central, she and Jefferson Thomas returned for their senior year in 1959. She graduated from Michigan State University and presently lives in Englewood, Colorado, where she is in real estate.
Minnijean Brown Trickey
She was expelled from Central High in February, 1958, after several incidents, including her dumping a bowl of chili on one of her antagonists in the school cafeteria. She moved with her husband to Canada during the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and today is a writer and social worker in Ontario. Winterstar Productions is presently filming a documentary on her life.
Gloria Ray Karlmark
She graduated from Illinois Technical College and received a post-graduate degree in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a prolific computer science writer and at one time successfully published magazines in 39 countries. Now retired, she divides her time between homes in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Stockholm, where her husband's family lives.
Thelma Mothershed-Wair
She graduated from college, then made a career of teaching. She lives in Belleville, Illinois, where she is a volunteer in a program for abused women.
Melba Pattillo Beals
She is an author and former journalist for People magazine and NBC and lives in San Francisco.
Elizabeth Eckford
The only one of the nine still living in Little Rock, Elizabeth made a career of the U.S. Army that included work as a journalist. In 1974, she returned to the home in which she grew up and is now a part-time social worker and mother of two sons.
Jefferson Thomas
He graduated from Central in 1960, following a year in which Little Rock's public high schools were ordered closed by the legislature to prevent desegregation. Today, he is an accountant with the U.S. Department of Defense and lives in Anaheim, Calif.
Dr. Terrence Roberts
Following the historic year at Central, his family moved to Los Angeles where he completed high school. He earned a doctorate degree and teaches at the University of California at Los Angeles and Antioc College. He also is a clinical psychologist.
Carlotta Walls Lanier
One of only three of the nine who eventually graduated from Central, she and Jefferson Thomas returned for their senior year in 1959. She graduated from Michigan State University and presently lives in Englewood, Colorado, where she is in real estate.
Minnijean Brown Trickey
She was expelled from Central High in February, 1958, after several incidents, including her dumping a bowl of chili on one of her antagonists in the school cafeteria. She moved with her husband to Canada during the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and today is a writer and social worker in Ontario. Winterstar Productions is presently filming a documentary on her life.
Gloria Ray Karlmark
She graduated from Illinois Technical College and received a post-graduate degree in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a prolific computer science writer and at one time successfully published magazines in 39 countries. Now retired, she divides her time between homes in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Stockholm, where her husband's family lives.
Thelma Mothershed-Wair
She graduated from college, then made a career of teaching. She lives in Belleville, Illinois, where she is a volunteer in a program for abused women.
Melba Pattillo Beals
She is an author and former journalist for People magazine and NBC and lives in San Francisco.