Skip to main content

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of African American student Charlayne Hunter walking with other students on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, 1961 January 17

View
@ Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)

Description

In this silent WSB newsfilm clip from Athens, Georgia on January 17, 1961, Charlayne Hunter, one of the first African American students to attend the University of Georgia, walks across campus with other students. The clip begins with students walking on campus and standing beside a building. Students, as well as men with cameras, stand on a campus lawn. Charlayne Hunter walks up a flight of stairs beside Meigs Hall, the psychology building and location of one of her classes. Cameramen film Hunter as she walks into Meigs Hall; other students also enter the building or wait outside. Finally, more images of campus buildings and students walking are shown.Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes first applied to the University of Georgia in the summer of 1959 but were denied based on lack of space according to the university. After several other unsuccessful applications, lawyers for the two students filed a federal lawsuit against the university. On January 6, 1961 federal judge William A. Bootle ordered the university to admit the students and to stop rejecting applicants solely based on race; Hunter and Holmes began attending classes at the University of Georgia on January 11, ending 176 years of segregation. After a riot by white students on January 11, university officials suspended Hunter and Homes "for their own protection." Bootle ordered the students readmitted and they returned to campus January 16.Title supplied by cataloger.
Type:
Video
View Original At:

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia