CARLOTTA LANIER
Carlotta LaNier was the youngest of the nine courageous African American students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. They were known as the Little Rock Nine.
Even at age 14, Ms. Lanier understood the role of education in a promising future. Inspired by Rosa Parks and the desire to get the best education available, she enrolled in Central High School knowing she would face daily harassment and intimidation.
When Carlotta Lanier graduated from high school in 1960, she went on to Michigan State University, where she studied for two years. But, like many of us, she fell in love with Colorado during a visit. She moved to Denver, where her aunt taught school, and she enrolled in Colorado State College, as the University of Northern Colorado was called at the time. In 1968, she earned her bachelor’s degree from this institution.
Her first job was working at the YWCA as a program administrator for teens. In the 1970s, she founded her own real estate brokerage company. She has worked in that industry for over 34 years. Her real estate experience ranges from construction and remodeling to marketing and selling.
Ms. Lanier is the recipient of the nation's highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal. President Clinton bestowed the award on her and the rest of the Little Rock Nine in 1999. Ms. Lanier has also earned the NAACP’s prestigious Spingarn Medal. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado in 1998 and was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2004.
She has been active in the Colorado Aids Project, Jack and Jill of America, the Urban League, the NAACP, and the National Diversity Council for Youth Committee. She is president of the board at the Little Rock Nine Foundation, a scholarship organization dedicated to ensuring African Americans equal access to education. She also serves as a trustee for the Iliff School of Theology.