Thelma Mothershed-Wair, one of the Little Rock Nine, passes away
By Brandon Ringo,
6 hours ago
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Thelma Mothershed-Wair, the eldest member of the Little Rock Nine passed away on Saturday.
Mothershed-Wair was born on November 29, 1940, in Bloomberg, Texas and became a national hero as one of nine African American students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957.
She was a successful student and was able to graduate from Central High in the 1958–59 school year after completing the necessary credits in order to graduate.
Melba Pattillo 15, left, and Thelma Mothershed, 15, both 11th grade students pose in their home after arriving from Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sept. 23, 1957. They said they weren’t treated badly in the school. (AP Photo/William P. Straeter)
Members of the Little Rock Nine, standing from left, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown-Trickey, Terrence Roberts, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, and foreground seated, Thelma Mothershed Wair and Melba Pattillo Beals) speak with former President Bill Clinton at the William J. Clinton presidential library on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 in Little Rock, Ark. They collectively agreed to donate one of their congressional gold medals to the library to be placed on permanent display. Members of the Little Rock Nine were the first black students to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957. (AP Photo/Brian Chilson)
Central High School students give thanks at a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at the home of Arkansas NAACP president Daisy and L.C. Bates in Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 25, 1957. The nine black students recited reasons for being thankful despite their ordeal during integration here this fall. From left to right: Thelma Mothershed, Mr. and Mrs. Bates, Jefferson Thomas and Elizabeth Eckford. (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman)
** FILE ** In this Sept. 25, 2007, file photo, the Little Rock Nine, from left front row, Melba Pattillo Beals, Thelma Mothershed Wair, seated, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Elizabeth Eckford, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Wallls LaNier, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Jefferson Thomas, and Ernest Green wave as they are applauded by Little Rock Central High School students on the steps of the school in Little Rock, Ark., after 50th anniversary observances of when the nine integrated the school . (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
President Bill Clinton greets Thelma Mothershed Wair along with other members of “The Little Rock Nine” during ceremonies celebrating the 40th anniversary of the integration of Central High in Little Rock, Ark., Thursday, Sept. 25, 1997. All of the nine black students who entered the all-white Central High School under armed escort in 1957 attended the ceremonies. Also pictured from left, Terrence J. Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Minnijean Brown Trickey. (AP Photo/Eric Draper)
Threats, social pressure and loneliness have been the fate of the nine black students who entered the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in September. One of the students, Thelma Mothershed, is shown, Dec. 6, 1957. (AP Photo)
Left to right: Dorothy Frazier, 13, Minnie Brown, 15, and Thelma Mothershed, 16, wait in a corridor of the U.S. Courthouse at Little Rock, Ark., where they were called to testifiy at a hearing on the integration problems at Central High School, Sept. 7, 1957. Thelma and Minnie were two of the students who were turned away by the National Guard as they attempted to enter the building on the first day of school. (AP Photo/Fred J. Griffith)
Thelma Jean Mothershed Wair in 1957, one of the nine African American Students who integrated Little Rock Central High School while federal troops patrolled the campus. (AP Photo)
Mothershed-Wair would go on to marry Fred Wair on Dec. 26, 1965 and the couple had one son. She also earned a bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University and worked at the Juvenile Detention Center of the St. Clair County Jail in St. Clair County, Illinois.
In 1999, Mothershed-Wair, along with the other members of the Little Rock Nine, were awarded the nation’s highest civilian award and a Congressional Gold Medal by former president and Arkansas governor Bill Clinton.
Beatles member Paul McCartney posted a picture on social media in 2016 with Mothershed-Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, calling them pioneers of the civil rights movement and inspiration for the hit song “Blackbird”.
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