CHICAGO — The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation is planning to honor the Little Rock Nine with its Lincoln Leadership Prize later this month.
The foundation said Thursday that it would honor the civil-rights figures May 18 during a dinner in Chicago. Actress and playwright Regina Taylor will present the awards.
A hostile crowd confronted the nine students as they helped integrate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957. They became known as the Little Rock Nine. The foundation says the prize is given to those with character, conscience and a commitment to democracy and service.
Previous recipients of the award include former President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.