A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School

In 1981, a CBS made-for-television movie called Crisis at Central High airs. It is based on a manuscript by Mrs. Huckaby, LaNier’s former English teacher. LaNier and Ike sit down with Whitney and Brooke and tell them about LaNier’s role as one of the nine. The family watches the movie together; Ike is teary-eyed, and LaNier’s children ask questions about the actress playing her.

The movie is told from Mrs. Huckaby’s point of view and makes her the main character. LaNier respected Mrs. Huckaby’s no-nonsense efficiency but thinks the movie gave her an unfamiliar warmth. Mrs. Huckaby’s book is released after the movie, but LaNier doesn’t read it or discuss it with anyone. Through the 1980s, she tries to move on, opening her own business and volunteering with the Colorado AIDS Project.

In 1987, the Little Rock Nine are invited to Little Rock by the NAACP for the 30th anniversary of their desegregation fight. LaNier has only seen half of the group over the years and has never returned to Central. In the halls of Central, she is overcome by emotion and flashbacks. She realizes she “had to find a way to make peace with [her] past” (243).