Tradition of Diversity
Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP is proud of its tradition of promoting diversity and equality in education, the practice of law, and the community as a whole. Little Rock Central High School became a focus of the Civil Rights Movement in 1957 when nine African-American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were denied entrance to the school in defiance of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering integration of public schools. The continued attempts of then-Governor Orval Faubus to segregate the Little Rock School District sparked a showdown between Governor Faubus and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and divided the Arkansas legal and business communities.
Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP (then called Wright, Harrison, Lindsey & Upton) was one of only a few law firms that took a stand against Governor Faubus. Led by attorneys Winslow Drummond, John M. Harrison, Edward Lester, Ronald A. May, and Robert Shults, the firm joined in “A Statement From Lawyers” published in Little Rock newspapers. In the Statement, sixty three lawyers who felt “compelled to take our stand for public education” urged their fellow citizens in the Little Rock School District to “face frankly the hard alternatives and to join with us in an effort to preserve free public education in our city” by voting against Governor Faubus’ segregation measures.
In openly supporting integration of the Little Rock School District, the firm earned the ire of Governor Faubus and many in the Arkansas business and legal communities. The firm, along with other integrationists, was listed in a permanent reference form as one of "the same 'tired' old names that have shown up in the integrationist attack on Little Rock from the very beginning." The firm and its counterparts were viewed as pro-integration “sinners” who ought to repent.
Despite pressure from the Arkansas government and many in the legal and business communities, the firm held fast to its position that free public education is one of our nation’s greatest heritages and that all children should have access to the same schools, teachers, and materials without regard to race. In 1957, under the direction of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, National and Arkansas Guardsmen were mobilized to forcibly integrate Little Rock Central High School. Today, the diverse student body of Little Rock Central High School is among the most award-winning in Arkansas academics and sports.