Whose White Momma is This? Oh, That's Hazel Bryan Massery - The Blueprint for Performative Allyship

Oye, mira.

On September 4, 1957, Elizabeth Eckford walked alone.

Her classmates—the other eight students of the Little Rock Nine—had planned to walk together. But a miscommunication left Elizabeth on her own, making her way toward Little Rock Central High School through a sea of hate. She had hoped to quietly enter the school, head down, books in hand, prepared for her first day.

Instead, she met a mob.

The now-iconic photograph taken by Will Counts captured Elizabeth in her pressed white dress and sunglasses, walking with an almost unshaken composure as white students and adults hurled insults behind her. One of them, Hazel Bryan Massery, was frozen mid-shout—her face twisted with rage, embodying the violent resistance to desegregation that gripped America.

Elizabeth kept walking.

Blocked by the Arkansas National Guard, she turned back toward a bus stop, alone. No teachers, no allies, no law enforcement protected her that day. Only her own dignity, strength, and resilience carried her forward.

Imagine being 15 years old walking into a mob of angry white people who had been responsible for lynchings that very same year.

In the same year of 1957, the United States witnessed at least one documented lynching of Willie Joe Sanford: A 24-year-old African American sawmill worker from Hawkinsville, Georgia. Sanford's body was discovered on March 1, 1957, in Limestone Creek, a few miles from Hawkinsville. He had been missing since February 2, 1957. His hands were tied above his head, and his body was wired to undergrowth in the creek. Sanford suffered a fractured skull from a blunt instrument and multiple stab wounds to his chest, stomach, and back. An autopsy suggested he had been in the creek for about 30 days.

Her walk was not just about entering a school. It was about the fight for justice, for the right to learn, for the future of this country. And yet, over 65 years later, we must ask: Are we still walking? Are we still asking? Or have we sat down in our illusion of comfort, mistaking silence for false peace? And, suffice it to say, if you believe this is an opinion piece, it's not. These are factual historically documented truths that your cognitive dissonance is struggling to comprehend.

If we do not continue to stand—Black, white, Latino, Asian, Indigenous—then Elizabeth Eckford’s courage was for nothing. If we allow the illusion of progress to make us complacent, if we let injustice go unchallenged, then we betray not only her but every person who has walked that walk for justice.

Progress is not permanent. It is maintained by our willingness to confront discomfort, to stand against hate, to walk toward justice even when the mob is loud. If Elizabeth Eckford could keep walking at 15 years old, alone in the face of terror, then surely we can find our courage now. Elizabeth and Hazel made amends in 1997.

White people, look at these photos. The only ones who created an entire hit squad to kill people were white people. Fear courses through your veins, passed down by generations of hate. The cure? Just do what's right for your fellow Black, Brown, Indigenous human. That's all it seriously takes. Remember, being white—that was a social construct developed in the 1700s by insecure colonizers. White people were called Latins, Celts, Gauls, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Slavs, Teutons, etc. – based on linguistic and tribal distinctions. It's time to unlearn the lies. The system of white supremacy is preventing you from actually evolving.

The Real Story of Elizabeth & Hazel: Beyond the Performative Narrative

A Surface-Level Reconciliation (1960s & 1990s)

• 1962: Hazel Bryan reached out to Elizabeth to apologize over the phone. Elizabeth accepted, but there was no real relationship between them.
• 1997: On the 40th anniversary of Little Rock’s desegregation crisis, Will Counts arranged a photo of Elizabeth and Hazel together, standing side by side in front of Central High, symbolizing reconciliation. The media celebrated it as a powerful story of healing.
• The Problem? Their relationship was complicated and never as warm as it was portrayed.

Why Did Their Friendship Fall Apart?

Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan briefly developed a friendship in the late 1990s, even speaking together at events about racial reconciliation. However, it didn’t last. The breakdown came from several factors:

• Superficiality: Elizabeth felt that people wanted an easy story—one of racial forgiveness—without acknowledging the depth of trauma she had endured.
• Hazel’s Privilege & Lack of Deep Change: Hazel Bryan still held problematic views on race, even as she publicly promoted reconciliation.
• Elizabeth’s Trauma: The decades of trauma Elizabeth suffered were not something that could be erased with a handshake and a photo.

Elizabeth’s Reflection on It

Elizabeth later said, "True reconciliation can occur only when we honestly acknowledge our painful, but shared, past." She did not believe Hazel fully grasped the weight of what she had done and what it meant to be Black in America as Hazel claimed she had "amnesia" of that day.

Where They Stand Now

They are no longer in contact. Elizabeth Eckford has remained a deeply private person, and Hazel has largely withdrawn from public life. The once-celebrated friendship was more of a symbolic moment than a lasting personal connection. As of February 2025, both Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Massery are still alive. Elizabeth Eckford, born on October 4, 1941, is currently 83 years old. Hazel Bryan Massery, born on January 31, 1942, is 83 years old as well.

The Lesson?

The story of Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan is not a fairy tale of racial harmony—it’s a reminder that true racial justice requires more than symbolic gestures. It demands deep change, systemic reckoning, and acknowledgment of historical and ongoing harm.

So what now?

If you’re white, let this be your call to do better than Hazel Bryan Massery. Do more than apologize—actively dismantle the systems that uphold racism. Stop looking for the feel-good moment and start doing the hard work.

Unlearn. Listen. Challenge. Repair.

Then, and only then, can we talk about reconciliation.