Minnijean Brown Trickey, like the other members of the Little Rock Nine experienced verbal and physical harassment throughout the school year. Trickey was first suspended, and then expelled, for retaliating against the daily torment.
Brown moved to New York after receiving a scholarship to New York’s New Lincoln School, a private progressive school in Manhattan. She graduated in 1959. Trickey received a bachelor of social work degree in Native Human Services from Laurentian University and master’s degree in social work from Carleton University in Ontario, Canada.
Trickey is an activist who has worked tirelessly on behalf of social issues such as diversity education and training, cross-cultural communication, peacemaking, environmental issues, and social justice advocacy. Due to her dedication, she has received numerous awards for her community work for social justice, including the Lifetime Achievement Tribute by the Canadian Race Relations foundation and the International Wolf Award for contributions to racial harmony.
Her Thoughts in 1957
“Race relations are alright as long as we are giving our lives to the war or working hard, but when the time comes for equalization, we are turned down.”
References:
Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2000.
Beals, Melba Pattillo. Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High. New York: Washington Square Books, 1994.
Counts, Will. A Life is More Than a Moment. Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1999.
Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown Trickey. Dir. Rob Thompson. North East Productions, 2002. DVD.
LaNier, Carlotta Walls, and Lisa Frazier Page. A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School. New York: One World/Ballantine, 2009.
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center. Little Rock, Arkansas. http://www.nps.gov/chsc/ (accessed June 16, 2012).
National Park Service, Central High School National Historic Site. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Retrieved June 5, 2012, from http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=723
Roberts, Terrence. July 7, 2008. “Dr. Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine,” Facing History and Ourselves. Retrieved from http://www.facing.org/about/who/profiles/dr-terrence-roberts.
Roberts, Terrence. Lessons from Little Rock. Little Rock: Butler Center Books, 2009.
The Ernest Green Story. Disney Educational Productions, 2005. DVD.