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Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock

David Margolick

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Mar 28, 2022 Julie Griffin added it

The story of the two women seen around the world in a famous photograph taken during the integration of a high school in Arkansas by the Little Rock Nine in the 1950s: Elizabeth Rockford, alone, her posture proud and her eyes behind dark sunglasses, makes her way in front of a crowd of hecklers come to protest her entry into a previously all-white school. Another high schooler, face contorted with hate and rage, is caught screaming at Elizabeth's back. This girl was Hazel Bryan, and this is the The story of the two women seen around the world in a famous photograph taken during the integration of a high school in Arkansas by the Little Rock Nine in the 1950s: Elizabeth Rockford, alone, her posture proud and her eyes behind dark sunglasses, makes her way in front of a crowd of hecklers come to protest her entry into a previously all-white school. Another high schooler, face contorted with hate and rage, is caught screaming at Elizabeth's back. This girl was Hazel Bryan, and this is the story of a shameful time and place, a changing of hearts and minds, reconciliation, and a sad truth that trauma inflicted has lasting damage on those who suffered it.
Elizabeth was supposed to meet with the other teenagers that day but her family did not have a phone, and she did not get the message. She found herself alone and surrounded, and her dignified response is one of the surviving impressions of that day. A shy and extremely intelligent girl who was already subdued and possibly depressed, Elizabeth went on to endure taunts and physical assaults the rest of the year, and then relived those experiences the rest of her life. She drifted and wandered through a military term, college, parenting two boys. She found some fulfillment in working with probation clients in Little Rock and was ambivalent about the many Little Rock Nine public events over the years.
Who was her tormentor in the photograph? Hazel Bryan was a flamboyant, popular girl who joined in the protest then ditched school and went to dance on a local rock-'n'-roll show. She really had no strong feelings about the integration but was joining in. What happens when Hazel grows up, has children of her own, and drifts into a more thoughtful and compassionate life is the story we all want to live in these, again, dark times.
The relationship between these two develops and grows as a complex and reactive relationship that reflects our own relationship as a country with racism. It is a story that gives both caution and hope, and is ultimately a tale of redemption possible. Highly recommend for the writing, the extensive research into the era and the lives of these two remarkable women, and for the reminder of the roles we all play in the scheme of interconnections. ...more

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