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Autherine Juanita Lucy (October 5, 1929 – March 2, 2022) was an American activist who was the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, in 1956. She and Pollie Myers were the first black students admitted to the University of Alabama, but they had to fight the university in court to have their admission maintained once the university realized they were black. Lucy was able to attend in 1956, but a violent mob of white community members targeting her on her fourth day of classes enabled the university to suspend her. Her expulsion from the institution later that year led to the university's president Oliver Carmichael's resignation. Years later, the university admitted her as a master's student and in 2010 a clock tower was erected in her honor on its campus.
The university hired private investigators to find reasons to disqualify Lucy and Myers: it was able to reject Myers on the grounds that a child she had conceived before marriage made her an unsuitable student, but couldn't find a reason to reject Lucy. At least two sources have said that the board hoped that without Myers, the more outgoing and assured of the pair and whose idea it originally was to enroll at Alabama, Lucy's own acceptance would mean little or nothing to her, and she would voluntarily decide not to attend. But Myers and others strongly encouraged her, and on February 3, 1956, Lucy enrolled as a graduate student in library science, becoming the first African American ever admitted to a white public school or university in the state.Clark, p.56 Even though Lucy was officially admitted, she was still barred from all dormitories and dining halls.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a sermon in 1956 about the events and gave it at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church the day before his trial for violating Alabama’s anti-boycott law:
While Lucy felt defeated from being expelled and losing the court case, Marshall, who would become the first African-American Supreme Court justice in 1967, thought differently. In a letter to Lucy, he said, "Whatever happens in the future, remember for all concerned, that your contribution has been made toward equal justice for all Americans and that you have done everything in your power to bring this about."
University President Oliver Carmichael resigned as a result of the trustees' opposition to Lucy's admission.
In April 1956, in Dallas, Lucy married Hugh Foster, a divinity student (and later a minister) whom she had met at Miles College.
For the next seventeen years, Lucy and her family lived in various cities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Her notoriety made it difficult at first for her to find employment as a teacher. The Fosters moved back to Alabama in 1974, and Lucy obtained a position in the Birmingham school system. Lucy remained a civil rights advocate for some time, making speeches at NAACP meetings around the country.
In April 1988, Lucy's expulsion was officially annulled by the University of Alabama. She enrolled in the graduate program in Education the following year and received an M.A. degree in May 1992, receiving a standing ovation at graduation. Her daughter Grazia graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor's degree the same year. The university named an endowed fellowship in her honor and unveiled a portrait of her in the student union. The inscription reads "Her initiative and courage won the right for students of all races to attend the University. She is a sister of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority."Clark, p.260.
Late in life, Lucy stated that she still resented the way the university had previously treated her, but "you just refuse to spend time thinking about it."
Lucy died on March 2, 2022, at the age of 92. Her grandniece, Nikema Williams, is a member of the United States House of Representatives and chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.
On November 3, 2010, the Autherine Lucy Clock Tower was dedicated in a new space honoring her, Vivian Malone, and James Hood (the Malone-Hood Plaza)—three individuals who pioneered desegregation at the University of Alabama. The Plaza is located beside Foster Auditorium, where, in 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace unsuccessfully attempted to bar Malone and Hood from registering at the university. The brick tower has a base displaying bronze plaques that chronicle the individual struggles of Lucy, Malone, and Hood. Additionally, on September 15, 2017, a special marker was erected in her honor near Graves Hall (home of the College of Education) on the UA campus. 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.
In May 2019, Lucy attended the University of Alabama's spring graduation, where the school presented her with an honorary doctorate. They described her as "the architect of desegregating Alabama's education systems."
Lucy's legacy continues at the University of Alabama with a $25,000 scholarship named after her and a picture of Lucy was put up at the university in 1992. On February 3, 2022, the university added Lucy's name to what was formerly Bibb Graves Hall, then changed to Lucy-Graves Hall. Following an outcry from students, faculty and the public about Lucy's name being placed alongside that of a former Klansman, UA trustees dropped Graves's name completely from the hall on February 11, 2022, renaming the building Autherine Lucy Hall.
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