One of ‘Little Rock Nine’ talks about importance of Civil Rights Movement in US history

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – One of the “Little Rock Nine” spoke at the Jewish Community Center on Thursday as part of Ohio Nonviolence Week.

Minnijean Brown-Trickey was one of the nine students who helped desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Thursday’s lunch event gave people the opportunity to hear her story.

She says it’s important to learn about the Civil Rights Movement because it made people take notice of how unfairly Black people were being treated.

“It’s a pivotal time in the United States’ history because we kind of didn’t know who we were. We thought, ‘We’re just fine,’ and this opened up the truth of hatred and violence and all that,” Brown-Trickey said.

Brown-Trickey is a frequent visitor to Youngstown. She has been a guest speaker for various groups for over 20 years.

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