Georgia Tech unveiled two bronze sculptures this week. They honor the first black students who attended the Institute.
One of the sculptures is dubbed “The Three Pioneers.” It honors the first three students who enrolled at Tech in September 1961.
Ford Greene was one of those pioneers.
He remembers taking his first math test at the Institute. “And the professor came into the class with the test scores and he was sobbing heavily,” he said.
Greene said he had the highest grade in the class. And his professor chastised his classmates for letting that happen. According to him, the professor referred to as a racial slur.
Ralph Long Jr. is also one of those pioneers. He went to high school with Greene. He was glad to be reunited with family, friends and his former classmates.
“I’m very excited. It’s a great day to be out here with family,” he said of the unveiling.
Lawrence Williams also enrolled in 1961. He never imagined he would be considered a pioneer, much less be commemorated in a statue.
“I’m still in shock, says Williams. “It’s nothing I’d ever expected to see in my lifetime.”
The three pioneers didn’t graduate from Tech. Two transferred to HBCUs and one was drafted into the U.S. Air Force.
Nearly 60 years have passed since Tech first integrated. Archie Ervin, vice president of Institute Diversity, said though he’s proud of Tech’s student diverse body, he says it could be improved.
“There’s certain areas that we’d like to improve like our African American enrollment,” Ervin said.
In academic year 2018, Tech’s student body was about 5 percent black. This week in an address to the Institute, Tech’s new president, Ángel Cabrera said he’d like to have a more diverse student body.
The other sculpture, called “The First Graduate,” honors Ronald Yancey. He graduated in 1965.
He says what he hopes current students see when they pass by the sculptures on campus.
“I hope they see opportunity,” he said.
