Editor of Oral History of Little Rock School Desegregation to Discuss Book

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – LaVerne Bell-Tolliver, editor of The First Twenty-Five: An Oral History of the Desegregation of Little Rock’s Public Junior High Schools, recently published by the University of Arkansas Press, will discuss the book at events in Fayetteville and Little Rock beginning in February.

Bell-Tolliver was one of the students who desegregated Little Rock’s five public junior high schools in 1961 and 1962. She interviewed these students, and was interviewed herself, then edited and formatted the personal stories of what the students experienced as they broke down long-standing racial barriers while in their early teens. Their stories, while full of trauma and prejudice, also tell of survival and strength.

Bell-Tolliver will discuss The First Twenty-Five at the following venues during Black History Month:

• 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, in a panel discussion with several “first 25” students, Pyramid Books, 1001 Wright Ave., Little Rock
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, in a panel discussion with several “first 25” students, Bullock Temple, 1513 S. Park St., Little Rock
• 3 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 15, in a discussion with a “first 25” student, UALR Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, 2801 S. University, Little Rock
• 6 - 8 p.m.Monday, Feb. 26, Black History Month Black Author’s Fair, ALLPS School of Innovation, 2350 Old Farmington Road, Fayetteville

All events are free and open to the public.

Bell-Tolliver is an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Social Work. She has worked in the fields of mental health and child protective services and is senior pastor of Bullock Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Little Rock.

Publication of The First Twenty-Five was supported in part by a social-justice advocacy grant from the Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, and by an African American Heritage grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council.

About the University of Arkansas Press: The University of Arkansas Press was founded in 1980 as the book publishing division of the University of Arkansas. A member of the Association of American University Presses, it has as its central and continuing mission the publication of books that serve both the broader academic community and Arkansas and the region.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.