CONGRATulations TO the 2023 Medal Recipients

VANGUARD LEGACY MEDAL

DR. CARLOTTA WALLS LANIER I Civil Rights Leader and Changemaker

Honoring a community leader who has made transformational contributions to the community throughout his or her career.

Dr. Carlotta Walls LaNier, a civil-rights legend, is the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine, who in 1957, were the first black students to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, our nation’s proving ground for Brown v. Board of Education. Dr. Walls LaNier received the Congressional Gold Medal, NAACP’s Spingarn Medal; she is an inductee in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame as well as the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She serves as president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, created to promote equality of opportunity for all, particularly in the field of education. Dr. LaNier moved to Colorado to attend Colorado State College, known today as the University of Northern Colorado. In 2009, she completed her biography, A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School.