This year, the School of Social Work has the great honor of hosting Terrence Roberts (pictured, right) as its 2015 graduation keynote speaker.
In 1957, at the age of 15, Roberts was one of nine African-American high school students who desegregated Little Rock (Arkansas) Central 
High School. The entire world watched as these students, known as the Little Rock Nine, braved intimidation by the Arkansas National Guard and ugly threats from segregationists who opposed public school integration following the historic Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
As the angry mob grew from 400 to 1,000, President Eisenhower finally sent in the U.S. Army to protect the students. On September 25, 1957, Little Rock’s Central High School was finally desegregated. The African American students continued to endure an endless stream of verbal and physical abuse from their fellow students for the rest of the school year. When the following academic year began, the governor of Arkansas chose to close all four of Little Rock’s public high schools rather than support desegregation, denying an education to more than 3,600 black and white students. Finally, three segregationist school board members were voted out and the schools were opened for the 1959–1960 school year.
Roberts himself went on to great achievement, receiving an MS in social welfare at UCLA and a PhD in psychology from Southern Illinois University. For more than 30 years, he held academic and administrative positions at two universities and maintained a practice in clinical psychology. He has been director of an acute care mental health unit and CEO of a management consulting firm. In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Roberts and his fellow Little Rock Nine participants the Congressional Gold Medal, our nation’s highest civilian honor.
For complete details about the UW School of Social Work 2015 Graduation Celebration on June 11, visit this page.