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Holmes
The Red and Black • Wednesday, November 1, 1995 • 6
recalled as hero against racism, but war’s not over
By THOMAS STRIEDINGER
Staff Writer
University President Charles
Knapp recalled the “dark days” of
the past speaking at the funeral of
Hamilton Holmes, the first black
student to attend the University,
at Morehouse College in Atlanta,
but also told the over 500 mourn
ers to fight the “fatal flaw of
racism.”
Knapp recalled the experiences
Holmes endured at the University
from 1961 to 1963 in front of the
predominantly black crowd, which
included family members, stu
dents from Morehouse College,
and prominent guests such as for
mer Mayor Maynard Jackson and
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the oth
er student who integrated the
'... he could find It in his
great heart to reach
across the divide that
separated us...’
- President Charles
Knapp, on Georgia alum
Hamilton Holmes
University.
“The University tried every ma
licious trick to keep (Holmes and
Hunter-Gault) out. The list of ex
cuses just went on and on," Knapp
said.
He said Holmes was denied ad
mission at one point for getting a
speeding ticket.
“It made me angry, so I under
stand why he was angry. But if he
could find it in his great heart to
reach across the divide that sepa
rated us, we can reach across the
divide that separates us today," he
said.
David Crawley, then a high
school student in Athens, was on
campus with his brother who at
tended the University when stu
dents protested the integration of
the two black students.
“As it got darker, more people
started to gather at the dorm
where (Hunter-Gault) stayed.
They were chanting ‘2-4-6-8, we
don’t want to integrate, and
things a lot more offensive than
that," Crawley said.
He said students threw rocks
and charged the building, at
which point the fire department
sprayed demonstrators with fire
hoses, and police officers sprayed
tear gas.
“It was a terrible night. People
were cruel and mean that night; it
showed how deeply rooted some
people’s hatred was," he said.
To Crawley, integration at the
University meant changes in his
hometown of Athens.
“Before then, all schools in
Athens were segregated, from
kindergarten up. So were all the
restaurants, bars, even the bus
stops were separate. The Georgia
Theater was open to whites on the
ground level, but black people
were only allowed on the balcony.”
“There was hatred towards the
race, not as much the individuals,”
Crawley recalled about his child
hood.
Crawley said people need to
forget the difference between
races to move into the future, but
some black students on campus
argue it would be wrong to do so.
“We are all human, but we are
also different,” said Nadine Tyrell,
a junior from Marietta. Tyrell said
while racism has become less bla
tant than in the ’60s, integration
still has a long way to go.
“Everything is separated on
this campus. In the dining halls,
white students sit separate from
black students and vice versa, fra
ternities and sororities are sepa
rated by color, parties and so on,"
she said.
Dave Sixto, a sophomore from
Trinidad, said the race situation
has advanced significantly since
1961, but said he still notices bad
examples.
“As a black student, I some
times feel like I have to do so
much better than other students ;
to be recognized and not stereo
typed because of my color," he
said.
Both students said they
learned about Hamilton at the
University, and agree his example
is something people need always
to remember.
Kecia Haggins, a graduate stu
dent from New Jersey, said differ
ent doesn’t mean better.
“Sometimes it is an issue of feeling
superior. Men and women are dif
ferent, but neither is better than
the other.”
Left: Reporters question Hamilton Holmes upon his
arrival to the University in 1961.
Bootle’s Decision Begins
Bottom: Marvin Arrington (second from right), presi
dent of the Atlanta City Council, and Gary Holmes
(first from right) served as pallbearers at a memorial
service at Morehouse College.
Right: This story was originally printed in the Jan.
11,1961 issue of The Red and Black.
ERIC RAYBURN/The Red and Black
Historic Series of Events
Federal Court Judge William A. Bootle’s decision to declare
Friday that two Negro students be admitted to the University of
Georgia “immediately” touched off a series of history-making events
at the oldest chartered state university.
Student demonstrations high
lighted Friday night’s activities as
a group of approximately 150 stu
dents gathered at the arch where an
effigy of “Hamilton Holmes” had
been hanged. Later in the night,
more than 500 students lined the Uni
versity track field to watch numerous
cross .burnings.
However, Saturday student leaders
and University officials moved
swiftly to head off more demonstra
tions, urging that students put their
opinions in form of petitions and
telegrams to their legislators. Stu
dents leaders issued statements ask
ing the members of the student body
to conduct themselves in a manner
“befitUng ladies and gentlemen."
Monday morning, Judge Bootle
granted a stay of the integration or
der, and legislators seemed ready to
do anything necessary to keep the
school open. But, in another turn of
events, Judge Elbert Tuttle, Fifth
District Court of Appeals, reversed
the decision Monday afternoon and
ordered the two Negroes admitted
immediately.
Governor Ernest Vandiver pre
pared a statement Monday night that
funds to the University would be cut
off. News of the statement leaked
out, and it seemed the Governor had
automatically proclaimed a demon
stration when more than 1,000 stu
dents paraded through the streets of
Athens in the largest demonstration
on the situation to date at the Uni
versity. •
