16 Facts About Autherine Lucy

1.

Autherine Juanita Lucy was an American activist who was the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, in 1956.

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2.

Autherine Lucy graduated in 1947, and went on to attend Selma University in Selma for two years, after which she studied at the historically black Miles College in Fairfield.

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3.

Autherine Lucy graduated from Miles with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1952.

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4.

Autherine Lucy later said that she wanted a second undergraduate degree, not for political reasons but to get the best possible education in the state.

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5.

Autherine Lucy was finally admitted to the University but it rejected Hudson on the grounds that a child she had conceived before marriage made her an unsuitable student.

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6.

Finally the president and trustees of the university of Alabama asked Autherine Lucy to leave for her own safety and the safety of the university.

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7.

The next day after Autherine Lucy was dismissed the paper came out with this headline: 'Things are quiet in Tuscaloosa today.

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8.

The University used the court case as a justification for her permanent expulsion, claiming that Autherine Lucy had slandered the University and they could not have her as a student.

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9.

Autherine Lucy's notoriety made it difficult at first for her to find employment as a teacher.

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10.

The Fosters moved back to Alabama in 1974, and Autherine Lucy obtained a position in the Birmingham school system.

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11.

Autherine Lucy enrolled in the graduate program in Education the following year and received an M A degree in May 1992.

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12.

Autherine Lucy is a sister of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

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13.

Autherine Lucy's grandniece, Nikema Williams, is a member of the United States House of Representatives and chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

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14.

Autherine Lucy returned to speak at the ceremony and compared the crowd that welcomed her with the hatred she had encountered the first time she entered the university.

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15.

In May 2019, Autherine Lucy attended the University of Alabama's spring graduation, where the school presented her with an honorary doctorate.

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16.

Autherine Lucy's legacy continues at the University of Alabama with a $25,000 scholarship named after her and a picture of Autherine Lucy was put up at the university in 1992.

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