50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of UNA

September 11, 1963 – September 11, 2013)

Events Schedule

FLORENCE-In commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the desegregation of UNA, a series of community, university and academic events will be held on campus and throughout the region. These proposed events are designed to acknowledge the achievements of alumni, community members and others involved in this milestone and provide opportunities for interaction between the community, student body and the historical community.

           Wednesday, September 11

• Fall Convocation, 11:00 a.m., Norton Auditorium
• Desegregation Roundtable Discussion:  4-5:30 p.m., Guillot University Center (GUC) Performance Center on UNA campus: Civil Rights In the Shoals: A Conversation will be moderated by Dr. Lynne Rieff, Professor of History, UNA and feature Mr. Wendell Wilkie Gunn, Lt. Col. Arthur Graves, USAF, Retired, Mr. Huston Cobb, Jr., and Dr. Kenneth Johnson, Professor Emeritus of History, UNA. Admission is free and open to the public.
  • Screening of Three Days at Foster: Civil Rights and Sports at the University of Alabama, a film by Keith Dunnavant, 7:00  p.m., Communications Building 131, UNA campus. Admission is free.

Thursday, September 12

• Celebration of Diversity Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Guillot University Center Banquet Halls on the UNA Main Campus. The Diversity Breakfast will be held to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of the University of North Alabama. Advanced tickets are $15.00 for individuals (or $100 for a table of 8 – with special recognition for the sponsoring organization) with proceeds going to support minority scholarship programs at UNA. Mr. Wendell Gunn, UNA’s first African-American student, will be the featured speaker with musical performances by the UNA Student Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Terrance G. Brown. Tickets are available from the UNA Office of Student Engagement or by contacting the UNA Department of History and Political Science at 256-765–4306 or history@una.edu.

Friday, September 13

• A Conference: Celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of Desegregation at UNA, 10:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., Guillot University Center (GUC) Banquet Halls and Loft on the UNA campus.
• The conference will feature three panels (10:30 a.m., 1:15 and 2:45 p.m.) and a keynote luncheon address by noted Alabama historian Dr. Wayne Flynt. Dr. Flynt’s address, “Removing Barriers Between Brothers and Sisters, Barriers of Law and Barriers of the Heart,” will begin at noon.

The public is invited, and there is no charge for registration.

Register online at www.una.edu/history/desegregation.html

Photo courtesy: Dr. Christopher Maynard