Thelma Mothershed Wair Papers

Collection

Identifier: MC 1868

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains correspondence between the Little Rock Nine Scholarship Fund and individuals who worked to support the fund and correspondence between the Little Rock Nine Scholarship Fund and universities attended by the Little Rock Nine. The checkbook and check receipts included in Box 2 of the collection provide supplementary documentation of how the funds were distributed to the different academic institutions attended by the Little Rock Nine. The Thelma Mothershed Wair Papers also include media coverage of the Little Rock crisis, program materials from award ceremonies and commemoration events, and the personal papers of Thelma Mothershed Wair and other members of the Mothershed family.

Dates

1958-2005

Creator

Wair, Thelma Mothershed, 1940- (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Biographical Note

Thelma Mothershed Wair was born November 29, 1940 in Bloomberg, Texas, and resides in Little Rock, Arkansas today. Wair is most well-known as one of the Little Rock Nine, the name given to the students who first integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. Following her graduation from Central High School, she went on to study home economics and get a Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling Education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She married Fred Wair in 1965 and the couple had one son, Scott Wair. Though retired from her work as an educator and advocate for the homeless, she continues to be acknowledged for her role in integrating Arkansas as a national influencer.

Thelma Mothershed Wair's mother, Hosanna Claire Moore Mothershed, served as secretary of the Little Rock Nine Scholarship Fund, of which Thelma was a recipient.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged and described in three series:

1, Little Rock Nine Scholarship Fund, 1959-1966
2, Little Rock Nine Media Coverage, 1958-2005
3, Personal and Family Papers, 1964-2005

Acquisition Information

The Thelma Mothershed Wair Papers were donated to the Special Collections Department by Thelma Mothershed Wair of Little Rock, Arkansas on May 17, 2010.