If Denver seems an unlikely locale for one of the largest and most important commemorations of the 50-year anniversary of the Little Rock Nine, look no further than those who are behind it.
The two-day event is being presented by Iliff School of Theology as a benefit for its Justice and Peace Scholarship Fund, and trustee Carlotta Walls LaNier was among the nine teenagers who were thrust into the national limelight when they became the first African-Americans to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.
Largely through LaNier’s efforts, all of the Little Rock Nine are expected to be in Denver for the occasion. It will be, she said, “the first time all nine of us have been presented to a community outside of Little Rock.”
Plans for the celebration were announced Tuesday evening at a preview of “Heroes & Sheroes: The Story of the Little Rock Nine,” an exhibition that the public can view for free through Oct. 31 at the Blair-Caldwell African- American Research Library, 2401 Welton St. The exhibit moves to the Iliff School of Theology on Dec. 1 and to a Wells Fargo Bank location Feb. 1.
The commemoration itself opens Feb. 25, when VIPs gather for a reception at the Adam’s Mark. A luncheon, open to the public for a $125 donation, takes place the following day.
Barbara Baldwin and former Colorado State University president Al Yates are the chairmen, with support from Iliff president David Trickett and former Mayor Wellington and Wilma Webb.
Guests at the kickoff included Denver City Librarian Shirley Amore; Elbra Wedgeworth, head of the Democratic National Convention’s Denver host committee; Gwendolyn Crenshaw and Terry Nelson of the Blair-Caldwell Library; Rosemary Berry, Glenda Barry, Nina Henderson Moore, Bettye Reed and Faye Tate from the Denver chapter of The Links, Inc.; Polly Baca, executive director of LARASA (Latin American Research and Service Agency);
Coors Brewing Co. exec Moses Brewer; Lynne Valencia of 9News/KUSA; Ellie Greenberg; Dovetail Solutions chief Andy Boian; and such Iliff trustees as Rhondda Grant, Lee Palmer Everding and Suzy Witzler, whose grandmother, Elizabeth Iliff Warren, founded the school in 1884.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She also contributes at .
