LITTLE ROCK, Ark- The loss of Little Rock Nine member Thelma Mothershed-Wair is a major one in the capital city. She was 83 years old, and people in the community remember vividly the start of the Little Rock Nine’s journey to de-segregating Central High School.

Thelma Mothershed Wair, one of the nine Black students who integrated a high school in Arkansas’ capital city of Little Rock in 1957 while a mob of white segregationists yelled threats and insults, has died at age 83.

Many are mourning the loss of an Arkansan who inspired change for the better and changed African-American education across the nation.

Mothershed made history as a member of the Little Rock Nine, the Black students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. She married Fred Wair on December 26, 1965. The couple has one son,

Thelma Mothershed Wair, a member of the group of Black students known as the "Little Rock Nine" who integrated a high school in Arkansas' capital city in 1957, has died.

One of the nine Black students who integrated a high school in Arkansas’ capital city in 1957 while a mob of white segregationists yelled threats and insults at them has