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By: Tom Parsons Associated Press Writer
By: Tom Parsons Associated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Jefferson Thomas, who as a teenager was among nine black students to integrate a Little Rock high school in the nation's first major battle over school segregation, has died. He was 67.
FILE - Jefferson Thomas in 1957, one of nine African American who integrated Little Rock Central High School while federal troops patrolled the campus, is seen in an 1957 file photo. Jefferson Thomas died Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio, said fellow Little Rock Nine member Minnijean Trickey Brown. He was 68. (AP Photo, File) Thomas died Sunday in Ohio of pancreatic cancer, according to a Monday statement from Carlotta Walls LaNier, who also enrolled at Central High School in 1957 and is president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation.
The integration fight was a first real test of the federal government's resolve to enforce a 1954 Supreme Court order outlawing racial segregation in the nation's public schools. After Gov. Orval Faubus sent National Guard troops to block Thomas and eight other students from entering Central High, President Eisenhower ordered in the Army's 101st Airborne Division.
Soldiers stood in the school hallways and escorted each of the nine students as they went from classroom to classroom.
Each of the Little Rock Nine received Congressional Gold Medals shortly after the 40th anniversary of their enrollment. President Clinton presented the medals in 1999 to Thomas, LaNier, Melba Patillo Beals, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Terrence Roberts and Thelma Mothershed Wair.
Clinton lamented Thomas' departure in a statement he issued Monday, calling him "a true hero, a fine public servant, and profoundly good man."
"Jefferson and I had a long visit when he came to my Presidential Center for the 50th anniversary in 2007, and I was struck again by his quiet dignity and kindness. America is a stronger, more diverse, and more tolerant nation because of the life he lived and the sacrifices he made," Clinton said.
In 2008, then President-elect Obama sent Thomas and other members of the Little Rock Nine special invitations to his inauguration as the nation's first black president. During his campaign, he had said the Little Rock Nine's courage in desegregating Central High helped make the opportunities in his life possible.
FILE - Jefferson Thomas in 1957, one of nine African American who integrated Little Rock Central High School while federal troops patrolled the campus, is seen in an 1957 file photo. Jefferson Thomas died Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio, said fellow Little Rock Nine member Minnijean Trickey Brown. He was 68. (AP Photo, File) Thomas died Sunday in Ohio of pancreatic cancer, according to a Monday statement from Carlotta Walls LaNier, who also enrolled at Central High School in 1957 and is president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation.
The integration fight was a first real test of the federal government's resolve to enforce a 1954 Supreme Court order outlawing racial segregation in the nation's public schools. After Gov. Orval Faubus sent National Guard troops to block Thomas and eight other students from entering Central High, President Eisenhower ordered in the Army's 101st Airborne Division.
Soldiers stood in the school hallways and escorted each of the nine students as they went from classroom to classroom.
Each of the Little Rock Nine received Congressional Gold Medals shortly after the 40th anniversary of their enrollment. President Clinton presented the medals in 1999 to Thomas, LaNier, Melba Patillo Beals, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Terrence Roberts and Thelma Mothershed Wair.
Clinton lamented Thomas' departure in a statement he issued Monday, calling him "a true hero, a fine public servant, and profoundly good man."
"Jefferson and I had a long visit when he came to my Presidential Center for the 50th anniversary in 2007, and I was struck again by his quiet dignity and kindness. America is a stronger, more diverse, and more tolerant nation because of the life he lived and the sacrifices he made," Clinton said.
In 2008, then President-elect Obama sent Thomas and other members of the Little Rock Nine special invitations to his inauguration as the nation's first black president. During his campaign, he had said the Little Rock Nine's courage in desegregating Central High helped make the opportunities in his life possible.
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