[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 15, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E162-E163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PAYING TRIBUTE TO CARLOTTA WALLS LaNIER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JON C. PORTER

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 15, 2006

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Carlotta Walls LaNier 
for her contributions to the American human rights movement and her 
continued service as a role model and educator for the youth of this 
country.
  Carlotta is truly a woman of living history. She was born on December 
18, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was one of the nine African 
American teenagers who integrated Little Rock Arkansas' Central High 
School in 1957, following the U.S. Supreme Courts' ruling in Brown v. 
Board of Education. Implementing such a ruling required a presidential 
order to provide troops to protect Carlotta and the other students 
breaking through the racial barrier. Despite threats on her and her 
family's life, and countless other incidents of intimidation and 
prejudice, Carlotta graduated in 1960.

[[Page E163]]

History would later call these brave Americans the ``Little Rock 
Nine.''
  Inspired by Rosa Parks, Carlotta had the desire to get the best 
education available, Carlotta enrolled at Michigan State University. 
She attended Michigan State for 2 years before moving with her family 
to Denver. In 1968, she earned a B.S. from Colorado State College (now 
the University of Northern Colorado) and began working at the YWCA as a 
program administrator for teens.
  Carlotta was awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 
1958. She has been a member of the Colorado Aids Project, Jack and Jill 
of America, the Urban League and the NAACP, as well as the president of 
the Little Rock Nine Foundation, a scholarship organization dedicated 
to ensuring equal access to education for African Americans. She has 
also served as a trustee for the Iliff School of Theology. In 1999 at 
the White House, members of Congress and the President bestowed upon 
Carlotta and the other members of the Little Rock Nine the nations' 
highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, for their 
sacrifice and contribution to the cause of equality.
  Mr. Speaker, Carlotta Wells LaNier continues to spread her influence 
by speaking today, to the students of Cornerstone Christian Academy in 
Henderson, Nevada, as part of a Black History Month Celebration. I am 
honored to recognize this great woman.

                          ____________________