Carlotta was the youngest of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was the first black female to graduate from Central High School. In 1999, Carlotta and the rest of the Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bill Clinton. They have received other awards and recognition, including the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, the Pierre Marquette Award and the Lincoln Leadership Prize from the Abraham Lincoln Library Foundation.
Carlotta has been a member of the Urban League and the NAACP, and is currently president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, a scholarship organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to education for African Americans. She has served as a trustee for the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, and of the University of Northern Colorado.
Carlotta was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the Girl Scouts in 2000, and was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2004 and into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in October 2015. She received the National Shining Star Award from NOBEL/Women (National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women).