UT Martin Celebrates 50 Years Since Desegregation
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Thursday marked the beginning of a year-long celebration at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Fifty-years ago, the first African-American student, Jessie Arnold Pryor, enrolled in classes marking the beginning of desegregation at the school. Thursday, the university held a ceremony to honor Pryor along with Beverly Polk Echols, the first African-American to graduate from Martin. “It means a great deal to me,” said Echols. “I didn’t think I would ever come back to the UT campus and to be honored the way we were is a great pleasure.” At first, Echols was the only African-American student on campus. She says times were much different back then. “The difficult part was being in a crowd,” said Echols. “Even though you’re in a crowd, you’re alone.” Echols recalled always sitting by herself because no one would sit close to her. Times are very different now. “We had one student in 1961 while at the end of the spring semester, June of 2011, exactly 50 years, we had 1,178 students,” said Dr. Annie Jones, UTM’s Director of Minority Affairs. “So we are about building and we are improving.” And as a part of recognizing those who paved the way for African-American students, officials look forward to the days to come. “It sends out a message that we value everyone,” said Jones. “We value everyone as achievers of tomorrow.” Each UT campus is celebrating this 50 year anniversary. All campus began enrolling African-American students as undergraduates in 1961.
