This week on Family Plot, we’re joined by our youngest plotter—8-year-old Lexi Boese—who asked us to tell the story of Autherine Juanita Lucy, the first Black student admitted to the University of Alabama. Her brave enrollment in 1956 was court-ordered and historic… and it ignited the largest anti-integration riot in American history. What followed was a shameful twist: Lucy was expelled “for her safety”—a coward’s move cloaked as concern. Even the local Birmingham paper applauded the university’s decision, celebrating the city’s “peace”—a peace built on exclusion. (Yeah… that didn’t age well.) In this episode, we dive into Lucy’s incredible journey:

• Her decision to challenge segregation
• The three harrowing days she spent on campus
• The court’s demand to reinstate her—and the university’s retaliatory slander ban
• Her triumphant return in 1988, earning a master’s degree the same year her daughter graduated with a BA

This isn’t just a story—it’s resistance wrapped in legacy. And with Lexi, Arthur, Laura, and Dean at the table, we explore how one woman’s courage changed history. Pull up a seat. Let’s learn something. #AutherineLucy #CivilRightsHero #FamilyPlotPodcast #LetsLearnSomething #BlackHistory #HistoryPodcast #AmplifyBlackVoices #TrailblazerThursday #PG13WithHeart


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