In 1957, Mrs. Mothershed Wair and eight other Black students enrolled at Little Rock Central High School. They faced racist mobs and were escorted by federal troops.

Thelma Mothershed Wair, the iconic member of the Little Rock Nine who helped integrate an Arkansas high school in 1957 despite opposition from white protesters, has died at the age of 83.

News came this weekend that Thelma Mothershed Wair, one of the Little Rock Nine, has died. She was 83.

Many are mourning the loss of an Arkansan who inspired change for the better and changed African-American education across the nation.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Thelma Mothershed-Wair, the eldest member of the Little Rock Nine passed away on Saturday. Mothershed-Wair was born on November 29, 1940, in Bloomberg, Texas and became a national hero as one of nine African American students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

One of the nine Black students who integrated a high school in Arkansas’ capital city in 1957 while a mob of white segregationists yelled threats and insults at them has died at age 83.

Wair, the oldest member of the Little Rock Nine Students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, passed away at 83 years old due to complications from multiple sclerosis.

Thelma Mothershed Wair, a member of the Little Rock Nine that integrated an Arkansas high school, has died at age 83.

Mothershed Wair died Saturday at a hospital in Little Rock after having complications from multiple sclerosis, her sister, Grace Davis, confirmed Sunday to The. The students who integrated Central High School were known as the Little Rock Nine.