Mary Frances Early had always been a stellar student, and her acceptance to the University of Georgia in 1961 was proof of that. But once she arrived on campus, she was met with relentless racism. Then one day, she decided to fight back.
As she walked to the campus post office, a group of white men began shouting the racial slurs and throwing rocks at her. One of the rocks nearly hit her in the eye. “I thought they could have put my eye out, and I picked up a rock, and I threw it back,” Early recalled in her story submission to For the Record, a Black oral history archive by Capital B and PushBlack.
Early refused to let racism derail her future. In 1962, she became the first Black person to earn a degree from the University of Georgia, graduating with a master's degree in music education.
Among those celebrating her achievement was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After her graduation, he sent her a personal letter writing that she had brought Atlanta and Georgia closer to the American dream. “I treasure that letter because it was very personal,” Early said.
To learn more about Mary Frances Early’s story and discover others like it, check out For the Record, a national Black oral history project dedicated to preserving the stories, memories, and voices of Black America. Created by Capital B and PushBlack, For the Record exists is to ensure the people, experiences, and histories too often left out of textbooks and official records are preserved in our own words. Add your story to the archive today.