When learning history in the classroom, from how the Greeks won the Trojan War to how Anne Frank lived during her time in Amsterdam, it is often hard to feel the authenticity of those stories. No matter how vivid the textbooks or how powerful the words are on the page, students seldom get the full experience. That is why, on Tuesday, November 11, Blair Skeptics was honored to welcome civil rights activist and scholar Dr. Terrence Roberts to the hilltop. A pioneer who fought for change and desegregation, Dr. Roberts will offer students the opportunity to ask questions and engage with history–bringing the past to life in a way few textbooks can.

In 1957, at the age of 15, Dr. Terrence Roberts made change as a member of the “Little Rock Nine”—a group of nine students supported by adult activists—who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The courageous commitment to attend the formerly segregated school was not easy and came with life-threatening challenges. Even with the help of  President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who ordered federal troops to the school to protect each student in Dr. Roberts’s group, Dr. Roberts recalls he suffered physical and verbal abuse on a daily basis throughout the school year. 

Today, Dr. Roberts is CEO of Terrence J. Roberts & Associates, a management consultant firm devoted to fair and equitable practices. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from California State University at Los Angeles, a masters of social work degree from UCLA, and a doctorate degree in psychology from Southern Illinois University. He has appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show, PBS Newshour, Tavis Smiley and on the BBC, and is a celebrated author.

In his memoir Lessons from Little Rock, he details his childhood in the segregated South and is a testament to the personal resolve that he and each member of the Little Rock Nine used to survive their first days at Central High. He is a regular speaker at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and visits various institutions to spread his message to stand up for what is right.

History of Skeptics

The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.