Elizabeth Eckford, one of the ‘Little Rock Nine,’ to speak in South Florida on Tuesday

A civil rights leader and member of the “Little Rock Nine,” who encountered a hostile mob as she tried to desegregate her high school in 1957, will speak at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts on Tuesday, the final stop of her tour.

Elizabeth Eckford, now 81, was only 15 when she attempted to enter Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas on the first day of school following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. An iconic picture of Eckford, walking ahead of an angry mob, school books in hand, spread throughout the country; following its publication, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock to ensure the peaceful integration of the school.

Eckford spent only a year at Central High and later served in the United States Army for five years as a pay clerk and information specialist.

Tuesday’s event will begin with a speech from Lawrence Funderburke, a former NBA player and motivational speaker. Following a brief intermission, Eckford will take the stage alongside Eurydice Stanley, a motivational speaker who served as a senior human resources manager in the Army, according to her website.

Eckford and Stanley co-authored “The Worst First Day: Bullied While Desegregating Central High,” a children’s book that details the events of Eckford’s first day of high school on Sept. 4, 1957.

All proceeds from the event will go to Honor Flight South Florida, a local volunteer organization that flies aging veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials at no cost, according to the organization’s Facebook post advertising the event.

The event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25.