June 23, 2007

In September 1958, Vivion Brewer and Adolphine Terry co-founded the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC), which sought to reopen Little Rock (Pulaski County) high schools following their closure by voters in order to prevent desegregation. Brewer served as chairperson of the committee, which focused solely on reopening the schools. Due in part to the committee’s efforts, the schools opened again in 1959, and Brewer resigned as chairperson the next year.