Leading up to Samford’s desegregation in 1967, the discussion in and around Samford was, to say the least, complicated.
Christopher Metress, Samford professor and civil rights scholar, said, “Our leadership at the time had little to no interest in integrating, and the most powerful voices hoped we could remain an all-white institution. But there were faculty and students who wanted the institution to change, but they simply didn’t have the power.”
Samford’s leadership sought to separate the university from the conversation when 96 Birmingham-Southern students signed a petition in 1960 protesting Governor Patterson’s expulsion of nine civil rights activists from Alabama State College.
Still named Howard College at the time, President Leslie Wright along with Chairman of the Board of Trustees Frank Park Samford issued a joint statement affirming to the public that the petition did not contain the name of any Howard College students, in line with the university’s attitude of distancing itself from the conversation of integration.
Wright and Samford also told the public about the petition: “We deplore such irresponsible action on the part of any student that can serve no constructive purpose and can only further agitate the reservoir of ill will that has already been unleashed by the students in Montgomery.”
They maintained their desire for Howard College’s students to remain uninvolved from prominent displays of activism during the Civil Rights Movement.
To understand students’ opinions on the matter, some students of Howard College were interviewed for the documentary Who Speaks for Birmingham?.
Regarding desegregation at Howard College, an unnamed female student said, “I feel that laws are necessary to make me do what I ought to do, even though I do not want to right now,” reflecting an attitude of some students that desegregation felt right but undesirable.
Metress continued, “Samford tried many things to fight off integration. For instance, the university initially refused to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Most Baptist institutions in the South had already integrated.
“We were fighting a losing battle, even within Baptist circles,” Metress said.
Tensions continued to mount in 1965 when one Howard College student invited some of his Black friends from Miles College to Howard’s cafeteria.
In a letter to that student’s father, President Wright wrote, “I pointed out to them that by decision of the Board of Trustees of Howard, the college was being operated as a segregated institution. I indicated that under such conditions, the invitation for Miles College students to visit the Howard cafeteria was completely out of order and could very easily involve the college in unfavorable and embarrassing publicity.”
In February of the same year, 40 Howard students signed a petition urging President Wright to revise his perspective on segregation.
Student Michael Fink wrote, “It disturbs me to realize that Southern Baptists pride themselves in being the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and yet, we have failed to assume a positive position of leadership in our section of the country in this effort of Christian love and concern.”
Students concluded by asking Howard College to “review the existing policy and take as much steps as necessary to remove the racial barriers for admission.”
There is no record of any response from President Wright.
Under President Wright, Samford finally integrated in 1967 due to the need for the Cumberland School of Law’s accreditation and federal student aid, and desegregation at Samford proceeded peacefully.
However, “When Dr. Wright retired in 1983, a speech was given on his behalf listing all the great things he did for the institution. Integration was not mentioned among his great achievements,” Metress said. “In fact, if you look at the record, it was not until recently that Samford began to celebrate integration as a notable moment in our institutional history.”
Staff Writer
