Member of Little Rock Nine christens nuclear submarine named for Arkansas

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The nuclear submarine USS Arkansas has been christened, almost a decade since the U.S. Navy announced that a Virginia-class submarine would bear the state’s name. Carlotta Walls LaNier, one the nine Black students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, on Saturday launched a bottle of sparkling wine into the hull of the Virginia-class submarine at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. In 2018, then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus named the six women of the Little Rock Nine as sponsors of the ship. The submarine is the fifth naval ship named for Arkansas, including a battleship. The most recent was a guided missile cruiser that was decommissioned in 1988. The Arkansas is expected to launch in 2025.