Dr. Terence Roberts, One of Famed ‘Little Rock Nine’ Visit Alverno Heights Academy
Alverno Heights Academy is honored to welcome Dr. Terrence Roberts on Friday, February 8, in Celebration of the Black History Month.
Just over sixty years ago in September of 1957, Terrence Roberts and eight other young people became the first African American students at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. These nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, faced mobs of angry protesters as they tried to enter the school.
After several weeks of resistance from both the state and the community, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent U.S. Army troops to accompany the students to school for protection. However, the Little Rock Nine continued to face violence and discrimination once inside Central High.
Terrence Roberts continued his education at California State University, Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1967. He received his Master’s Degree in Social Welfare from the UCLA School of Social Welfare in 1970, and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 1976. In 1999, he and the other people of the Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bill Clinton.
Roberts shared his story and vision with the Alverno community in a very special presentation.
About Alverno Heights Academy
Alverno Heights Academy is an all-girls, independent, progressive Catholic, college preparatory school dedicated to its mission of empowering each young woman to be exactly the person she wants to be. Located on the property of the former Barlow Estate in Sierra Madre, California, Alverno Heights Academy was founded in 1960 by the Sisters of St. Francis who sought to create an environment in the San Gabriel Valley where young women could become informed and knowledgeable persons. Later renamed Alverno High School and sponsored by the Immaculate Heart Community, Alverno’s program—academic, spiritual, aesthetic, social, and physical—has been shaped by the staff, trustees, and students. As Alverno Heights Academy once again, the school remains committed to its mission by encouraging each of their young women to be who they imagine. For more information about Alverno Heights Academy, please visit www.alvernoheightsacademy.org.