Published February 3, 2021 •
Updated on February 3, 2021 at 12:19 pm
Published February 3, 2021 •
Updated on February 3, 2021 at 12:19 pm
For the entire month of February, NBC will showcase essays about Black Americans who pioneered change in United States history during the Civil Rights Movement that led to nationwide desegregation. Pioneers include those who led local efforts to desegregate schools, professionals who forged ahead to become luminaries within their industries, and advocates who stoked the wave of change head-on in the nation's bid for racial justice and equality.
Dr. LaVerne Bell-Tolliver, a Native of Segregated Little Rock, Arkansas
I was the only African American student that was [in Forest Heights Junior High School] for two years. That experience, as you can imagine, was life changing at the time.