Sanders Orders Flags to Half-Staff to Mourn Little Rock Nine Member Thelma Mothershed Wair

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME - GREETINGS:

WHEREAS:  On Saturday, October 19, Thelma Mothershed Wair, one of the Little Rock Nine, passed away in Little Rock at the age of 83;

WHEREAS: Mothershed Wair was one of the first nine Black students to attend Little Rock Central High School, braving mobs and opposition from state leaders to attend the formerly all-white high school in the fall of 1957;

WHEREAS: In the ensuing conflict between state and federal leaders, Mothershed Wair and the other members of the Little Rock Nine became symbols of bravery in the Civil Rights struggle and even inspired Beatles band member Paul McCartney to pen the hit song “Blackbird”;  

WHEREAS: Mothershed Wair persevered in her education, graduating high school and earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree. She went on to work for decades in the East St. Louis school system as a counselor, and also in a Juvenile Detention Center in Illinois, helping disadvantaged young people navigate the education system;

WHEREAS: Mothershed Wair and the other eight members of the Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999 and are the inspiration for monuments and memorials in Little Rock and across the nation;

WHEREAS: Arkansans are forever indebted to the sacrifices of Mothershed Wair and her classmates, who put their own personal safety on the line to fight for integration, racial equality, and simple fairness in the education system and every aspect of Arkansas society.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby order that the United States flag and the state flag of Arkansas be flown at half-staff throughout the State from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, October 26, 2024, on the day of Thelma Mothershed Wair’s interment, in memory of her life.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 23rd day of October, in the year of our Lord 2024.