Autherine Lucy was an unlikely pioneer

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3rd 1956 was one of those cold-misty mornings in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Autherine Lucy needed her umbrella, as well as her hat, to walk into her first class at the University of Alabama. She had been driven by her best friend, Pollie Anne Hudson, the 60 miles from Birmingham. Under her raincoat she was wearing her best heels and a peach dress, a good pastel colour to be inconspicuous in, because she had no intention of causing a fuss. All she wanted was to finish her education in the best place in the state. When she pictured herself among those red-brick Greek-revival buildings, she would think: “Girl, you’ve got great aspirations!” But why not? She could blend quietly in and study to become a librarian. No one should mind. What was harder to hide that Friday was that a lawyer had come with her, a university policeman was close behind her, and her skin was black.