Thelma Wair, Little Rock Nine Pioneer, Dies at 83
Written by on October 22, 2024
[[{“value”:”Thelma Watershed Wair
Thelma Watershed Wair, one of the courageous Little Rock Nine who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, has died at the age of 83. Her sister, Grace Davis, confirmed to the Associated Press that Wair passed away on Saturday at a Little Rock hospital due to complications from multiple sclerosis.
Wair, along with eight other students—Melba Pattillo Beals, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Terrence Roberts, and Jefferson Thomas—made history when they defied an angry mob and segregationist forces to attend the all-white high school. Their enrollment came three years after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared segregation unconstitutional.
Despite opposition from Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who deployed the National Guard to block their entry, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops from the 101st Airborne Division to ensure the students’ safety as they entered the school on September 25, 1957.
Wair graduated and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in home economics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1964, followed by a master’s in guidance and counseling from SIU Edwardsville in 1970. She later became a dedicated educator and guidance counselor in East St. Louis School District #189.
In 2016, Wair received an honorary doctorate from SIU Edwardsville and was inducted into the university’s Alumni Hall of Fame. Her legacy of perseverance and commitment to education continues to inspire generations.
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