S.L. school prepares for visit from 'Little Rock Nine' member

SALT LAKE CITY – It's a cool spring morning at Summit Christian Academy and the students in Laura Ottati's class are belting out the words to "We Are the World" as they paint different colored hands onto paper.

The 4- and 5-year-olds in the Salt Lake private school are too young to read about "The Little Rock Nine" — a group of black students who broke barriers by integrating into an all-white school in Arkansas in 1957.

But today they are gaining a deeper understanding of integration. Ottati asks them how they would feel if any one student – black, Vietnamese or Latino – was not allowed to enter the classroom because he or she was different. The kids said they would feel sad.

"It doesn't matter the color of our skin. God loves us and we're the same to Him," Ottati says.

The lesson is part of several weeks of preparation for a visit from one of the "Little Rock Nine," Terrence Roberts. He will speak at several schools and various public events this week. The Summit Christian kids will sing "We Are the World" at Tuesday night's banquet. The students' artwork, including the colored hands, will serve as table centerpieces.

"One of the 'Little Rock Nine' coming here? It's really exciting," said fifth-grader Joseph Jimenez, 11.

On Sept. 4, 1957, Roberts and eight other black students attempted to integrate into Central High School, as was newly allowed by federal law.

Roberts, now 68, said he heard on the TV and radio that morning a mob of people who didn't agree with integration was forming around the school. "I naively assumed I would be able to get into school and get on with my day," Roberts told the Deseret News in a phone interview. "It didn't turn out that way."

Summit Christian principal Trevor Kendall said his students will benefit greatly from learning about Roberts' experiences. "This is someone who took a great risk in order to get great rewards," he said. "It's not just about the civil rights movement but about overcoming any obstacle with courage."

Summit Christian has 49 students, of which 86 percent are minorities. Half of the students are from low-income families and receive tuition assistance. But Kendall points out smaller things such as obesity or stuttering can bring out prejudice and discrimination from others.

Third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in Cindy McCaw's class wrote skits based on the book, "Days of Courage: The Little Rock Story," and will act them out for the younger grades during Roberts' visit to the school. Some students are writing essays of their own stories of courage – some about being bullied.