Assembly Member Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) joined the California Legislative Black Caucus Monday morning for a breakfast reception to honor unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, including one prominent Gardenan.
Assembly Member Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) joined the California Legislative Black Caucus Monday morning for a breakfast reception to honor unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, including one prominent Gardenan.
Bradford’s VIP guest and unsung hero was Annetta Kelly Lawrence, a resident of Gardena and one of the first five students to integrate Hayneville High school in Lowndes County, Alabama in 1965.
“As we transition from celebrating Dr. King’s legacy into Black History Month, we often talk about the heroism of the Little Rock Nine,” Bradford said, referring to the first students of color to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957. “But the struggle for equality did not end there. Many other schools had to be integrated across the country, thanks to the heroism of people like Annetta Lawrence.
Lawrence was selected to enter Hayneville High School due to her outstanding academic record. She joined four other students in breaking the color barrier at the school in 1965. She graduated as the valedictorian of the class of 1969.
After high school she went on to graduate from Alabama State University with honors in three and a half years, and eventually moved to Los Angeles to begin a 35-year teaching career. She retired in 2009 as the Assistant Principal of Robert E. Peary Middle School in Gardena.
“Ms. Lawrence is truly an unsung hero of the Civil Rights movement, and a hero to generations of students who have passed through her schools,” Bradford added. “I am honored to recognize her achievements today.”
Assembly Member Steven Bradford represents the 62nd Assembly District, comprised of the cities of Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, and El Segundo, and the communities of North Gardena, Westchester, Venice, and Del Rey, and parts of Westmont and Park Mesa Heights, and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
