We don't want you here.
Why don't you go to your own schools?
So what you were class valedictorian and passed our college's entrance exam, you "failed to meet entrance requirements."
This is what five African-American students (Mardest Knowles, Nellie Peoples, Joseph McGhee, Ruth Booker and Elijah Noel) faced when they tried to enroll at Memphis State College in 1954 after the Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of Education decision integrating schools.
"We will limit the enrollment to white students ... until the State Board of Education instructs me to admit them," said then MSC president J. Millard Smith in an interview with The Commercial Appeal in June 1954.
After five years and several more court appearances, eight African-American students were finally admitted on Sept. 18, 1959. The students -- Eleanor Gandy, Ralph Prater, Luther McClellan, John Simpson, Sammie Burnett, Bertha Rodgers, Rose Blakney and Marvis Kneeland -- became known as the "Memphis State Eight."
Their tuition and books were paid for and their dreams of attending college had finally come true.
Unfortunately, hopes for freshman mixers and fraternity parties were soon dashed.
Officials told the students they were only allowed to go to class and the library, and that they must be off campus by noon.
They were escorted to class by plainclothes police officers. Evil stares met them at each classroom door and some students moved over when they sat down.
"I had some apprehension (on that first day) because of all of the attention we got," said Gandy, one of the Memphis State Eight.
Even though there were no major events of conflict, for these students the resistance on the campus was evident.
"General student body attitude was one of avoiding the Negroes," wrote Carl Crawford, a reporter for the campus paper, then called The Tiger Rag.
President Smith was quoted in the September 1959 article as saying, "We took all legal steps available to prevent it, but finally the courts said we had to do it and we hope it works out."
One student commented, "I don't like it, but anything said or done wouldn't help matters any."
That school year eventually ended and the following year saw 60 African-Americans in attendance. MSC also allowed the students more freedom by granting access to the Student Center and cafeteria.
McClellan attended LeMoyne-Owen College for one year while awaiting the court's decision to allow the eight to enroll. He entered MSC as the only African-American sophomore. He recalled how disappointing college life was for him.
"There were times I've regretted missing out on normal college life," said McClellan, the first African-American to graduate from MSC. "The fraternal life just was not there."
Another regret he had was not having African-American professors as role models. McClellan recalled how "difficult and unfriendly" most of his professors were. They were unwilling, he said, to assist him adding that they "received no breaks."
"College is more than education," he said. "You can not tell a black (person) he can be anything without role models showing him."
Memphis State didn't begin hiring African-American professors until the 1960s.
Helen Nunn, Ralph Johnson, Dr. Davis Acey, Erma Clanton and Ernest Davis were the first African-American faculty members, according to Edwin Frank, curator of Special Collections at the McWherter Library. Davis was the first to gain dean status.
Fifty-nine of the 820 U of M faculty members are African-American, according to the Office of Institutional Research.
This semester, 6,871 of the 19,485 students in attendance are African-American. In 1959, out of 4,800 students, eight were African-American and the faculty was not integrated.
The U of M has implemented the Diversity Council headed by Mark Stansbury, Assistant to Pres. Shirley Raines. The council is responsible for ensuring that "minority and multi-cultural issues are addressed," and "recruitment and retention of faculty and students representing a broad range of minority, linguistic and cultural backgrounds," ensuring a supportive climate for these faculty and students and addressing their concerns.
McClellan and Gandy went on to graduate from MSC in 1962 and 1963, respectively. Gandy received her master's degree from The University in 1969. Looney and Jones left after a couple of years but returned in the mid-seventies to receive their bachelor's and master's degrees. McClellan and Simpson continued their educations at other colleges. Rodgers has a daughter who graduated form The U of M. Prater has since lost touch with the group.
Although both Gandy and McClellan have mixed feelings about the entire experience, both are proud of their accomplishments. Gandy said that she inspired her siblings to go to school, and that one of her sisters even attended The U of M.
"My feelings about MSC haven't mellowed over the years," McClellan said. "We should have been allowed to attend because we (African-Americans) were paying taxes that went to a state-supported school, too."
Even though he admitted to harboring some bad feelings about The University, McClellan added that he always roots for The U of M's sports teams.
"I'm glad the racial barrier was broken," he said.
