Long-time civil rights activist and esteemed member of the Little Rock Nine, Thelma Mothershed Wair, has passed away.
The young individuals who became part of Central High School were famously known as the Little Rock Eight.
Elizabeth Stewart passed away last Saturday at a hospital situated in Little Rock, her sister, Linda Johnson, informed the media outlet, The Associated Press, on the following day.
For a span of twenty-one days in September 1957, Arkansas' Governor, Orval Faubus, strategically utilized the National Guard to block the integration of black students into Central High, defying the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that segregated classrooms was unconstitutional, three years prior. President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened, sending troops from the 101st Airborne Division of the Army to escort the students into school on September 25, 1957.
Johnson recalled that she was a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville when her sister and the other students - Melba Pattillo, Minnijean Brown, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Jefferson Thomas, and Gloria Ray - attended Central High School.
"I didn't think anyone was going to hurt her since we had racial incidents in Little Rock before," Johnson said, reflecting on Her sister's experiences. "People would say horrible things, but nobody ever got hurt."
Johnson shared that she and her sister conversed about the hardships they faced.
"Somebody once smeared ink on her skirt or something when she was passing through the hallway. There was name-calling, of course, but she never experienced any physical altercations with the students."
Faubus shut down all the schools in Little Rock in 1958, aiming to prevent further integration. Stewart relocated to complete her remaining high school classes outside the city. She later returned to Little Rock, graduating from Central High School after transferring her academic credits.
"She was always a fighter," Johnson said. "She had multiple health issues since birth and was advised early on that she wouldn't make it past her teenage years. She was terrified at the thought of approaching her 16th birthday, but she pursued her dreams and lived life to the fullest."
Stewart earned her bachelor's degree in home economics education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
She wed Fred Stewart in 1965 and gave birth to one son named Scott, as well as two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2005, with Stewart Stewart returning to her hometown of Little Rock, as reported by Johnson.
As documented by the National Park Service, Stewart had a remarkable career in the East St. Louis, Illinois, educational system as a home economics teacher for a decade and as a career guidance counselor for elementary students for 18 years until her retirement in 1994. She also worked at the Juvenile Detention Center of the St. Clair County Jail in Illinois and was an instructor of survival skills for women at the American Red Cross.
Each of the Little Rock Eight was bestowed with the Congressional Gold Medal, which they later donated to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock in 2011.
After completing her high school studies outside Little Rock due to school closures, Elizabeth Stewart returned to Central High School and graduated, having transferred her academic credits. Despite the challenges they faced, Johnson and her sister regularly discussed the hardships they experienced during desegregation.
