Members of the University of Memphis Black Student Body continue the courage, sacrifice and legacy of Mrs. Bertha Looney(c)and the seven others known as The Memphis State Eight. Photo by Don Mooney
Sept 18, 2024 by Don Mooney
Memphis, TN – – -Today the University of Memphis held a commemoratory at the campus University Center acknowledging this historic day and time 65-years ago that reverberates to this day. The moment was set aside to honor the Memphis State Eight who in 1959 were the first Black students selected to intergrate the all-white university. The last remaining member of the original Memphis Eight, Mrs. Bertha Mae Rogers-Looney, was on hand to autograph commemorative bookmarks and spoke to those in attendance to the legacy and significance of the Memphis State Eight.
Dr. Acy(l) head of African-American studies department at the University of Memphis and his wife pose with Atty Jack Payne(c), 1969 graduate of University of Memphis. Photo by Don Mooney
In 1959 Memphis State University was a state school funded by the tax-paying residents of Tennessee. This included tax-paying residents whom were prohibited from attending. Eight Black high school graduates, selected from various Memphis all-Black high schools were selected to satisfy the Supreme Court ruling of 1954 desegregating all government-funded schools of higher learning changed the racial makeup for generations of people of color across the state of Tennessee. Those brave souls became infamously known as the Memphis State Eight.
NEW STUDENTS NEW RULES
The desegregation of this major educational institution was a game changer at the southern university. This meant in order for this experiment to take place new rules were implemented as to not upset the educational apple cart. Faculty were given their marching orders as well. The newest members of the Memphis State student body were made to feel as welcomed as today’s immigrants along the Texas borders. Yet the Eight were legal citizens, in their own country, regulated to separate social margins.
Remember this was 1959. The civil rights movement was gaining traction in the south and created rumblings heard around the world. The south was on fire and the Memphis State campus was a proving ground. The teens were daily escorted back and forth to class by plain-clothed law enforcement officers. Campus hours were 8am – noon. A bell would ring at noon signaling learning for the day was finished and these special students were to be escorted off the campus til the morrow. This was the daily atmosphere the Eight were expected to learn in.
Members of the University of Memphis Black Student Body acknowledge the sacrifice and courage of Mrs. Bertha Looney and the seven other Memphis State Eight. Photo by Don MooneyPhoto by Don Mooney
Add to this being told to sit at the back of the class. Ignored when your hands were raised to name a few of the daily conditions for the Eight. Eight were also given marching orders from community leaders from NAACP, their church community and former high school instructors. Generations were depending on your ability to rise while others were given the green light to go low.
”Under those restrictions we had a lounge for the men and a lounge for the women, other than that we could not be ant any other place on campus,” recalls Looney. The daily stares from white students served as a backdrop and reminder of the community leaders instructions as to the Eight’s response to be called nigger or, when confronted, to deescalate instead of escalate a situation.
INFERIORITY
To this day Looney admits a lingering effect from those frustrating times and thoughts of wanting to quit. “No matter what I wrote the grades were C’s and D’s,” mentions Looney. “Our tudors were the professors at LeMoyne College. The problem was taking English and other courses where you have to write, it was so subjective we didn’t know our error,” states Looney. Even now I flashback to professors who said I couldn’t write. I couldn’t speak well. I think thats why it’s taken me so long to write this book. After many dissertations and masters thesis, taught English almost 50-years. 65-years later I feel I’m not a good writer, recounts Looney, and it still bothers me to this day.”
1969 Memphis State graduate Atty Jack Payne, a member of the 109 who were arrested for protests on campus, details similar experiences as Looney from professors 10-years later in the classrooms. “It was something like a code that if you took English, for example, from a professor who had the last name as an animal like a Fox, or if they had a last name like Dr. White or Dr. Brown or something like that…you weren’t going to get a good grade, remembers Payne. You could write one of the best papers in the class-you were only gon get a C.”
Payne does credit a Professor who was encouraging. “There was one professor, Jackson Baker, he was an English instructor. He told me, Jack don’t be discouraged. He said you’re a great writer and you’ll be fine. I really appreciated that,” remembers Payne.
Dr. Lacy, founding member of the BSA in 1969 and current BSA president senior Camyia Shobe-Thomas from St. Louis, MO. Photo by Don Mooney
GENERATION NEXT
Looney’s completed here studies in 1965. From aspirations as a Mathematician, to business major Looney walked away from the experience with a major in English and a minor in Math. At which time there were over a hundred Blacks added to the Memphis State rolls. In 1964 the Delta Sorority was established on Campus. Kenneth Moody, currently the Executive Director of Community and Government Relations for the University also played on the team of the first team of the first Black coach, Larry Finch, understands and reflects the impact of Looney and her colleagues value on today’s event. “I’m not standing here today without them [The Eight]. I’m not standing here as a former athlete. I’m not standing here as an employee at the University of Memphis. None of that happen if they didn’t show the courage they shown back in the 60s,” states Moody.
Current Black Student Body Association president, senior from St. Louis, MO, Health Science major with a concentration in Exercise Science, Camyia Shobe-Thomas feels a sense of duty associated with today’s event and got emotional winning her award today. “Seeing the sacrifice that everyone made for us to be here today, it definitely, you know, gets me in my feelings a little bit,” chimes Thomas.
A plaque erected on the campus of University of Memphis dedicated to the courage and commitment of the eight Black students who changed the racial direction of higher education in the state of Tennessee.
What started with Memphis Eight has now blossomed to over 6,000 Black undergraduate students enrolled at the now University of Memphis. Impressed by todays events BSA president feels its her duty to keep the legacy going. “Me, as a BSA president, I feel it’s s my duty to not only educate the students on the campus about how much they have done but to continue that legacy as well.