Desegregation of the University of Tennessee

Desegregation of the University of Tennessee is a Tennessee historical marker in Knoxville, Knox County.

Knox Co., UT between Academic University of Tennessee Buildings and Ayres Hall, Knoxville

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During a federal lawsuit in 1952, the University of Tennessee opened enrollment in the graduate and law programs of the institution to African Americans. Gene Mitchell Gray enrolled in graduate school, and Lincoln Blakeney enrolled in the College of Law. Facing a legal challenge from African American applicant Theotis Robinson, Jr. to segregation in undergraduate programs, the Board of Trustees opened enrollment in all programs of the university to all races on November 18, 1960. African Americans Charles Edgar Blair, Willie Mae Gillespie, and Theotis Robinson, Jr. enrolled as undergraduates on January 4, 1961.

TodayHistorical map

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OldInsuranceMaps.net — Sanborn Map Collection

Historical maps covering this location

1886 · Knoxville, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1895 · Gen. map VII. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · Knoxville, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1926 · Proposed Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina-Tennessee / engraved and… (University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
1951 · Sanborn Fire Insurance Map — Knoxville, Tenn. (1951) (OldInsuranceMaps.net — Sanborn Map Collection)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

Desegregation of the University of Tennessee

Historical maps covering this location

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