News Release

Member of Little Rock Nine to speak on campus October 6

September 25, 2008

As a teenager in 1957, Minnijean Brown Trickey entered the Civil Rights Movement – and America’s consciousness – through the front doors of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.

As a member of the Little Rock Nine, she took her place in what had previously been a whites-only school. Walking past armed guards and an angry mob, and in front of a worldwide television audience, Minnijean helped desegregate public schools – and change the course of education in America.

Incredibly, this was only the beginning of her career as a social activist.

Trickey brings her compelling, historic account to Penn State Harrisburg’s Capital Union Building Student Center at 6:30 p.m. October 6. The presentation is free and open to the public. For information, phone 717-948-6273.

The presentation is one of a series of events surrounding the college’s eighth annual Summer Reading Program in which all first-year students engage in activities designed to enhance intellectual interaction even before formal classes begin. This year’s book is, Warriors Don’t Cry, by Melba Pattillio Beals, a member of the Little Rock Nine.

Each student attending a summer session of the University’s First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program received a free copy of the book with a web site established which includes questions to consider in each chapter, the Civil Rights Movement, and other resources. The interaction is continuing this semester with work in English composition and other courses.

For her work, Trickey has received the U.S. Congressional Medal and a medal from the W.E.B. DuBois Institute. Under the Clinton administration, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diversity in the Department of the Interior. She is also the subject of two acclaimed documentaries: Journey to Little Rock: the Untold Story of Minnijean Brown Trickey and HBO’s Little Rock: 50 Years Later.

In her presentation, she takes the audience back to the momentous events of September 1957. But the talk is not mired in the past. As a living witness to history, she delivers a fascinating exploration of social change, diversity, and the battle against racism throughout the decades.