Book: A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier

Publishing Info: Published by One World/Ballantine; 304 pages in hardcover

GoodReads Summary: When fourteen-year-old Carlotta Walls walked up the stairs of Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957, she and eight other black students only wanted to make it to class. But the journey of the “Little Rock Nine,” as they came to be known, would lead the nation on an even longer and much more turbulent path, one that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the landscape of America.

Descended from a line of proud black landowners and businessmen, Carlotta was raised to believe that education was the key to success. She embraced learning and excelled in her studies at the black schools she attended throughout the 1950s. With Brown v. Board of Education erasing the color divide in classrooms across the country, the teenager volunteered to be among the first black students–of whom she was the youngest–to integrate nearby Central High School, considered one of the nation’s best academic institutions.

But for Carlotta and her eight comrades, simply getting through the door was the first of many trials. Angry mobs of white students and their parents hurled taunts, insults, and threats. Arkansas’s governor used the National Guard to bar the black students from entering the school. Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to send in the 101st Airborne to establish order and escort the Nine into the building. That was just the start of a heartbreaking three-year journey for Carlotta, who would see her home bombed, a crime for which her own father was a suspect and for which a friend of Carlotta’s was ultimately jailed–albeit wrongly, in Carlotta’s eyes. But she persevered to the victorious end: her graduation from Central.

This was such a wonderful book!  And add it to the very short list of books that have made me cry.

This is the 2nd book I’ve read that was written by someone who attended Little Rock Central High- the other one was Warriors Don’t Cry.

Her reason for going to Central High was because she wanted to go to one of the top high schools in the country, and not because of the history it would make.  It was clear throughout the whole book that education was important to her and her family.  Some of the events of the book were very familiar because of Warriors Don’t Cry, but it was very interesting to see a different perspective of what it was like.

I can’t even begin to imagine what it was really like for her.  All the comments, insults, and other things that happened…I can read about it all I want, but it’s just so hard to believe that she made it through to her graduation.  If that isn’t courage, perseverance, and willingness to complete her education, I don’t what is.  It’s hard to believe that, like, 55 years ago, integrating schools was a huge thing.  I know it happened and all, but it’s not something I think about very often…if at all.

Most of all, this book is a good reminder of the past, that not too long ago, things were different but that things can change.

There were 2 things that really stuck out.  One, she could have gone to college after her junior year in high school, and even got accepted to a university.  But she made the decision to go back to Central High, because she had gone through so much just to graduate from there.  And two, the fact that she did her best to put that time of her life behind her.  I don’t blame her at all, and remembering her high school years must have been hard.  But it seems like she’s made peace with it, and wants to make sure that people don’t forget that things were once different.

I give it a 5 out of 5.  It’s a must-read.