'' Back then , LaNier thought once the doors of equality were open it would n't be long before an African-American became president . `` I had hoped to see something like that in the next 10 or 15 years when I was in high school but that did n't happen , '' says LaNier . What has happened is a new generation of students walks the halls at Central High . Even though the exterior looks the same as it did during integration -- the interior would be almost unrecognizable to LaNier and the other Little Rock Nine . Student : I ca n't believe it happened here , but I 'm glad it did '' Today , the sea of mostly white faces has disappeared . The hallways are now filled with a more racially diverse student body . Students take a class to learn about the school 's history and many say it 's given them a greater appreciation for racial tolerance . `` Now it 's definitely hard to imagine -- you walk into the halls and you see people of all different races are in the hallway . And in addition , the majority of
LITTLE ROCK , Arkansas -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Carlotta Walls LaNier points out the only two African-Americans in her senior class as she flips through her high school yearbook . She pauses when she sees the picture on a page dedicated to `` Integration . '' Carlotta Walls LaNier and eight other members of the Little Rock Nine are invited to Obama 's inauguration . It 's been nearly five decades since LaNier graduated from Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas . `` It shows how the 101st were on the grounds of the school , '' says LaNier . In 1957 , soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division , an elite Army unit , escorted LaNier and eight other African-American students into the all-white public high school . The students , who became known as the Little Rock Nine , were taunted and threatened by an angry mob . `` We knew we could not participate in extracurricular activities , '' recalls LaNier . `` There was one who could have been in the band , one who could have been on track . I was the one who played basketball ... I could n't do that .