LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 15, 2024) — This year marks the 75th anniversary of Lyman T. Johnson’s historic legal triumph against the University of Kentucky, a milestone that marked him as the first Black student to integrate the university.
A lifelong champion of education and its transformative potential, Johnson was an advocate for equality in both education and broader society, drawing inspiration from his experiences as both a student and a teacher.
Johnson's lawsuit against UK proved successful, leading to his enrollment as a graduate student in the summer of 1949. While he did not complete his degree at UK, the enduring legacy he leaves behind echoes the principles he instilled in his students — the ongoing pursuit of equality and justice, and an emphasis on the role of education and independent thinking to help people navigate the path toward progress.
UK alumnus and Lexington native George Wright is one of many who has benefitted from Johnson’s efforts. A noted African American scholar and former president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Wright attended UK in 1968 through a special program offered after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the university.
Wright earned bachelor's master's degrees in history from UK and received a Ph.D. from Duke University. He returned to UK as an assistant professor then later moved to the University of Texas at Austin and eventually Prairie View. In 2019-20, he came back to UK as a visiting professor in recognition of the 70th anniversary of integration. At the end of that year, he remained at UK and served as interim vice president for institutional diversity for 2020-21 and then took on the role of senior adviser to President Eli Capilouto.
On this episode of "Behind the Blue," Wright talks about the personal and community significance of Black History Month and the impact Lyman T. Johnson’s victory had on his own UK experience, as well as on the cultural life of the university itself.
“The Lyman Johnson case happened in 1949. I (was) born in 1950, so this is on the verge of all of this change,” Wright says in the interview. "When I was young, virtually everyone I knew who was Black said they were going to college somewhere other than the University of Kentucky."
Wright discusses areas of the university that looked much different 50-75 years ago, and notes the "tremendous change" he has witnessed.
“I feel as if my professional career, maybe even my personal life, has come full circle,” Wright said. “Being born in Lexington, going to the University of Kentucky, and now back here at the University of Kentucky. I tell people — unashamedly, unabashedly — that I have always loved the University of Kentucky and that I'm so appreciative of the opportunities that UK gave me back when I was a scared-to-death teenager about a university.”
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