Carlotta Walls LaNier

Carlotta Walls LaNier was born on December 18, 1942, to Juanita Walls and the late Cartelyou Walls. At the age 14, she was the youngest of nine courageous Black students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

Following her graduation from Central High in 1960, Walls attended Michigan State University for 2 years before moving to Denver, Colorado. She graduated from Colorado State College (now the University of Northern Colorado) and began working at the YWCA as a program administrator for teens. In 1977, she founded LaNier and Company, a real estate brokerage company.

Lanier and the Little Rock Nine have received numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1958, and the nation’s highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, which was bestowed upon them in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. She has been a member of the Urban League, NAACP, and is currently president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, a scholarship organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to education for African Americans. She also serves as a trustee for the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, and the University of Northern Colorado.

Lanier was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the Girl Scouts in 2000, and was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2004. She just recently received the National Shining Star Award from NOBEL/Women (National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women).

For over 30 years, she has worked as a professional real estate broker. Currently, she is working with Prudential Colorado Real Estate. She and her husband, Ira (Ike) LaNier have two grown children, Whitney and Brooke.