The Lions Of Little Rock

Liz is a charismatic twelve-year-old who has just enrolled in Marlee’s school. Because her skin is light and her hair is straight, Liz can pass for white although she is of color. When her secret is discovered, she leaves for a new school but isn’t accepted by black students either because she tried to pass. Despite the dangers in an interracial friendship, Liz continues to meet Marlee in secret.

Although the two friends are forbidden to see one another by the end of the novel, they have changed one another’s lives for the better and will continue to communicate via phone.

·       Mr. and Mrs. Nisbett—Marlee’s parents start out on opposite sides of the integration controversy. Mr. Nisbett is a liberal who supports equal access to education for all students. Mrs. Nisbett is initially opposed because of a fear of retaliation but comes around to her husband’s viewpoint. Both eventually lead the struggle for integrated schools in Little Rock. 

·       Betty Jean—Betty Jean is the Nisbett’s new maid. She is Pastor George’s wife and Curtis’s mother. Betty Jean becomes friendly with Marlee and helps educate her on the plight of Negroes living in the South. She is also the target of Red’s racist attack.

·       David and Judy—David is the eldest Nisbett sibling. He lives away at college but comes home for frequent visits. Marlee has always been able to talk to him easily, and he encourages her aspirations to become a NASA engineer someday. Judy is Marlee’s watchful big sister, who sometimes protects her too much. Judy is sent to live with her grandmother until the school controversy in Little Rock ends.

·       Sally and Little Jimmy—Sally is Marlee’s best friend before Liz arrives. She’s vain and superficial, but her heart is in the right place. Little Jimmy is a schoolmate who has a crush on Marlee. Because he’s as quiet as Marlee is, he writes all his thoughts in a journal that he sometimes lets Marlee read. 

·       Mr. and Mrs. Fullerton—Liz’s parents are a light-skinned attractive couple. Mrs. Fullerton actively discourages her daughter from contact with Marlee because it is too risky for a girl of color and a white girl to be friends. By the end of the novel, she relents and allows them to call each other to stay in touch. 

·       Pastor George—Pastor George is Betty Jean’s husband and Curtis’s father. Mr. Nisbett invites him to speak at a white church, which brings threatening phone calls from local racists. He is instrumental in rallying people of color in Little Rock to overturn segregation in schools.

·       Curtis—Curtis is accused of Halloween pranks committed by the Dalton boys and is sent to jail where Mr. Nisbett rescues him. He later becomes Liz’s boyfriend.