Resisting Injustice: Dr. Minnijean Brown-Trickey

Dr. Minnijean Brown-Trickey
Posted on 11/12/2019
Dr. Minnijean Brown-TrickeyResisting Hate: Dr. Minnijean Brown-Trickey Visits CV

Minnijean Brown and eight fellow African American students integrated Little Rock Central High School in September 1957. The "Little Rock Nine," who were either 14 or 15 at the time, suffered horrific violence, persecution and torment from classmates, teachers and community members alike.

In cooperation with the History and Literature of the Black Civil Rights Movement class, the International Baccalaureate program, and the CV SPIRIT Committee, Dr. Minnijean Brown-Trickey visited with students and teachers in the Learning Commons November 12.

Junior Abbie Miller posed the first question to Dr. Brown-Trickey: "With all the hate that you've experienced," Miller said, "how do you still see goodness in man?"

"Everything they did transformed me into a different kind of person. I don't want anyone to have to go through that," Dr. Brown-Trickey said. "So I'm always working toward building relationships and creating ambassadors of love, unity, caring, and working together."

Dr. Brown-Trickey emotionally moved in and out of her experiences at Central High School as she challenged her young audience toward action; to resist hate and injustice with love and understanding.

"My smile was my resistance."

Minnijean's legend includes the time she was suspended for intentionally spilling a bowl of chili on a classmate who had harrassed her. Though Dr. Brown-Trickey clarified that the bowl toppled only after being knocked around by white classmates, she smiled through an admission that it happened, "accidentally on purpose, and that response was too 'uppity' for them."

Dr. Brown-Trickey's resistance inspires people around the world to be active in fighting hate and injustice. At CV and in other schools, that hate takes the form of bullying.

"And you are--people are--being bullied. And hate makes craziness, so you can't fight the bully, you can only comfort the victim. How hard is it to walk up to somebody who was bullied and say, 'I saw that.'"

Dr. Brown Trickey dared her audience toward real action.

"Kids can make presidents act. There is no end to what young people can do. You've got it. Because there's some stuff that's really messed up. You all need to go to work."

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