Paul McCartney, who made his mark in the world in the 1960s as a Beatle, recently met two Little Rock women -- Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford -- who made their mark on the world in the previous decade. In 1957, the women were part of the Little Rock Nine, students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock. In recent years, McCartney has said the integration crisis at the school inspired his song "Blackbird" from The Beatles, known as the White Album, in 1968.
"Incredible to meet Mrs. Thelma Mothershed Wair and Ms. Elizabeth Eckford of the Little Rock Nine -- pioneers of the civil rights movement and inspiration for Blackbird," McCartney tweeted and wrote on his Facebook page, sharing a photo of them meeting backstage when he performed April 30 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
Rolling Stone and others have reported on it, and to date, the photo has landed 62,000-plus responses.
How did the meeting happen? Dave Wengel, Gov. Asa Hutchinson's son-in-law, knew that McCartney had earlier mentioned writing "Blackbird" after hearing of the racial inequities of the South, including the Little Rock Nine. Wengel contacted Verizon Arena employees, explains Jana DeGeorge with Verizon. She then contacted McCartney's publicist.
"There was only a small time period when he could do this while in town, so it made for last-minute approvals," says DeGeorge, adding that arena officials had the poster (featuring a blackbird) commemorating the concert framed and left in McCartney's dressing room before his arrival.
"We mentioned the poster to him and then he mentioned that he was really touched to have met both Mrs. Thelma and Ms. Elizabeth," says DeGeorge.
"Way back in the '60s, there was a lot of trouble going on over civil rights, particularly in Little Rock," McCartney told the Verizon audience in introducing "Blackbird." "We would notice this on the news back in England, so it's a really important place for us, because to me, this is where civil rights started."
Eckford and Wair could not be reached for comment for this column.
P.S. This columnist first heard of and reported on McCartney linking the song to Little Rock when he performed it in Nashville in 2010.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or lhaymes@arkansasonline.com.
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