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Born October 5, 1929, in Shiloh, AL
Died March 2, 2022, in Lipscomb, AL
Autherine Lucy Foster was the first Black student to attend the University of Alabama. A 1952 graduate of Miles College in Birmingham, she wanted to further her education. After several years of court battle to gain admission, she was allowed to go to classes for only a few days in February 1956 before riots erupted on campus and she was expelled. In 1988 the university revoked her expulsion and invited her to enroll again. She re-enrolled in a graduate program and graduated in 1992 alongside her daughter. In 2010, the University of Alabama built the Autherine Lucy Clock Tower on campus in her honor.