Carlotta Walls LaNier's First Day of School Dress
Resilience against racism at Little Rock Central High School
Carlotta Walls LaNier was the youngest of the nine students to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in September 1957. She wore this matching skirt and blouse to the first day of school, which was also the first day she was turned away. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was called on to intervene, and the students entered school on September 25, three weeks after the academic year started.
Outfit worn by Carlotta Walls to Little Rock Central High School
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- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Clothing-Historical
- Movement
- Civil Rights Movement
- Exhibition
- Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
- On View
- NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053
- Date
- 1957
- Object number
- 2012.117.1ab
- Caption
- Carlotta Walls LaNier was the youngest of the nine students to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in September, 1957. She wore this matching skirt and blouse to the first day of school, which was also the first day she was turned away.
- Description
- This outfit was worn by Carlotta Walls LaNier during the "Little Rock Crisis" of 1957 at Little Rock Central High School. The outfit consists of a skirt and blouse in a matching alphabetical print of blue, teal, and white on a black background. The blouse fastens with small black buttons, has a pointed collar and short sleeves that tie into bows at the cuffs. The skirt is full and has several pleats at the waist.
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Carlotta Walls LaNier
- Created by
- Sportswear by Sheinberg
- Worn by
- Carlotta Walls LaNier, American, born 1942
- Subject of
- Little Rock Central High School, American, founded 1927
- Topic
- African American
- Civil Rights
- Clothing and dress
- Education
- Race relations
- Segregation
- U.S. History, 1953-1961
- Place used
- Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, North and Central America
- Medium
- cotton with plastic buttons
- Dimensions
- H x W (top): 22 3/4 x 23 1/2 in. (57.8 x 59.7 cm)
- H x W (skirt): 27 x 41 in. (68.6 x 104.1 cm)
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Type
- ensembles (costume)
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2012.117.1ab
