In 1955, Southeastern stepped forward to embrace all who wanted an education, becoming one of the first integrated colleges in the South. Many early Black students still felt the reverberations of prejudice and discrimination from both the community and their classmates, though some recounted that their professors—including 40-year professor of history C. Howard Nichols—would help them feel welcomed and serve as stalwarts against bullying.
These students, including Southeastern’s first Black graduate Mildred Myles Crawford, helped bravely pave the way for future generations. By the end of the institution’s first century, minority students would comprise 36 percent of the student body.