Eckford From Little Rock Nine to Speak at UACCM

UPDATE: DUE TO AN ANTICIPATED LARGE CROWD, THE EVENT WILL NOW BE HELD IN TYSON TRAINING HALL, INSIDE THE DR. LARRY D. DAVIS WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER.

The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM) will host Elizabeth Eckford on Thursday, February 15, at noon in Tyson Training Hall in the Dr. Larry D. Davis Workforce Training Center, as part of its "Talks, Thoughts, and Treats," speaker series.

Eckford made history as a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African American students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The image of fifteen-year-old Eckford, walking through a screaming mob in front of Central High School, propelled the crisis into the nation’s living rooms and brought international attention to Little Rock.

In 1958, Eckford was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), along with the rest of the Little Rock Nine. In 1997, Eckford shared the Father Joseph Blitz Award, presented by the National Conference for Community and Justice. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Eckford and the other members of the Little Rock Nine with the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian award.

Joining Eckford will be Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton, a lifelong educator and self-proclaimed social justice foot soldier. Prior to retiring in 2006, Hampton served as President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and as Contributions Manager, Education and Culture at the GTE Corporate Foundation. Hampton also has 23 years of academic administrative experience between Iona College, University of Wisconsin, and Southwestern University.

Hampton served as President of the Little Rock Aesthetic Club and the Little Rock Club, and formerly was a board member of the Japanese American National Museum, Arkansas Blue Cross, Blue Shield, the Blue and You Foundation, the Foundation for the Mid-South and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

This “Talks, Thoughts, and Treats,” event is in observation of Black History Month in conjunction with the yearlong UACCM 60^-year anniversary celebration. The event is free and open to the public.