Laverne Bell-Tolliver was the first African American student to desegregate Forest Heights Junior High School.

Dr. LaVerne Bell-Tolliver recounts path to desegregating Forest Heights Junior High School

“This is your new school.”

These were the words that echoed off the eardrums of a 12-year-old LaVerne Bell-Tolliver in the summer of 1961, while sitting in the backseat of her parents’ station wagon as they drove past Forest Heights Junior High School, one of five all-white junior high schools in Little Rock.

Continue reading “Dr. LaVerne Bell-Tolliver recounts path to desegregating Forest Heights Junior High School”