Who Are The ? To authentically capture what a day in the life was like for the Little Rock Nine, we borrowed from the real-life experiences of these students at Central High School. Here is a little more about the civil rights pioneers that inspired the text-message experience.

Melba Pattillo 1 Beals Melba Beals’ experience provided inspiration for the Activist Text, and many of the scenarios you encountered in the game were based on her life. She was trapped in a bathroom while girls bombarded her with pieces of flaming paper, had acid sprayed in her eyes, cut her knee in gym class after a student broke a glass bottle on the ground and tripped her, and experienced fear and isolation on a daily basis. Beals’ mother, Lois, was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from the University of in 1954 and chose to become a teacher. Lois’ career was threatened when Melba enrolled in Central High School; Lois’ school told her that they would not renew her teaching contract unless Melba dropped out of Central. Lois stood her ground and refused to take her daughter out of school. In addition to her mother’s emotional support, Melba also had the spiritual guidance of her grandmother, India, who constantly encouraged her to continue to fight segregation. Although unnamed, Grandma India is the voice of hope, support, and strength throughout text-message experience.

After the Governor of Arkansas closed Central High for a year, Beals transferred to a school in California. She went on to earn a bachelor’s at San Francisco State University and a master’s in Communications from Columbia University. Beals worked as an NBC reporter and is still a strong advocate and activist for racial integration.

Mennijean Brown- 2 Trickey Brown was 16 when she enrolled at Central High. While all of the Little Rock Nine were told to ignore the daily harassment from white students, Brown retaliated against her tormentors. She was suspended after dropping a tray in the cafeteria and splashing her bowl of chili on two white boys who were bullying her. Later on in that first year at Central, Brown was expelled for calling a girl “white trash” after the girl verbally abused Brown and hit her with a purse. Brown studied journalism at Southern Illinois University. From 1999 to 2001, she served in the Clinton administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity. She is still a bold civil rights activist and focuses on environmental, gender, and social justice issues.

Terrance 3 Roberts Like the other Little Rock Nine, Roberts faced terrible abuse on a daily basis. Perhaps one of the most violent attacks he experienced was when he was hit on the side of the head with a combination lock in the gym locker room. After his tumultuous first year at Central High, Roberts moved to Los Angeles to finish high school. As a warrior for education, Roberts has spent his career in academia. He received a master’s in social welfare from UCLA and a Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University. He served as assistant dean at UCLA’s School of Social Welfare and is currently a faculty member at Antioch University Los Angeles.

Elizabeth 4 Eckford Eckford is often recognized as the young black student in the infamous photo of the white mob screaming at her outside of Central High School on September 4, 1957. On the scheduled first day of school, Eckford was the first of the nine to arrive and was confronted by an angry mob pushing her, threatening her, and chanting, “Two, four, six, eight, we ain’t gonna integrate!” Luckily, Eckford was able to make her way through the mob and get home safely. On September 27, 1957 Eckford and the other Little Rock Nine were escorted into the school by the National Guard and began their first day at Central High.

Eckford didn’t graduate from Central High since the school closed for a year. Instead, she earned her G.E.D, graduated from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and joined the U.S. Army. She returned to Little Rock years later and currently works in the city as a probation ocer.

Ernest 5 Green As the only senior among the Little Rock Nine, Ernest Green was the first African -American to graduate from Central High School. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended his historic graduation in Little Rock. Green earned a bachelor’s and master’s from Michigan State University. Just like Minnijean Brown, he too served in a U.S. President’s administration. Under President , Green was appointed as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Aairs. He has also been elected to various boards including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Thelma Mothershed 6 Wair Thelma Wair was a junior when she enrolled at Central High. Since Central High was closed for her senior year, she took correspondence courses and summer classes and received her high school diploma from Central High School by mail. Wair earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Illinois University. In Illinois, she worked at the St. Clair Juvenile Detention Center and the American Red Cross Shelter where she taught survival skills to women. In 2003, she returned to the Little Rock area and currently resides there.

Carlotta Walls 7 LaNier Carlotta Walls LaNier was the youngest of the Little Rock Nine. After Central High was closed for a year, she returned to the high school and graduated in 1960. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State College, start her own real estate brokerage firm, and serve as the president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, a scholarship and mentorship organization devoted to providing African-American students with equal access to education.

Je erson 8 Thomas Jeerson Thomas was known as the quiet one among the Little Rock Nine. His shy de- meanor subjected him to even more abuse from his white peers. Thomas persevered and graduated from Central High in 1960. He served as an accountant for the United States Department of Defense and is now retired.

Gloria Cecilia 9 Ray Gloria Cecilia Ray’s father’s involvement with influential African-American leaders like and Booker T. Washington inspired her to enroll as one of the first black students at Central High School. Like the other Little Rock Nine, Ray endured abuse by white bullies. She had her locker and books vandalized, was spat on, and was even pushed down a flight of stairs. Her mother served as a sociologist for the State of Arkansas, and was fired by Arkansas Governor Faubus because she refused to take her daughter out of Central High. After the first year at Central, Ray and her family moved to Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Mathe- matics from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). After graduation Ray worked at the University of Chicago Research Medical Center as a laboratory research assistant.

Daisy Gaston 10 Bates

Daisy Gatson Bates served as a mentor to the Little Rock Nine and coordinated the integration of Central High. Bates and her husband founded the Arkansas State Press, which became an influential African- American newspaper in Arkansas and a voice for the . She was elected president of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP and used this platform to advocate for desegregation in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. Bates provided support to the Little Rock Nine and their families by meeting with school and government ocials, escorting parents to school meetings, and opening up her home, which became the headquarters of the Little Rock Nine movement. Like the nine students for whom she advocated, Bates faced countless threats from those opposed to racial integration. She had rocks and even a bomb thrown through her windows, but she never gave up on the fight for equal access to education. Bates was a civil rights activist until her death in 1999. Today, Arkansas recognizes the third Monday in February as Daisy Gatson Bates Day.