Editing Samford University (section)

===Civil rights===
As a private, [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] institution, Samford University was to some degree insulated from the activities of leaders and protesters of the [[Civil Rights Movement]] in the 1950s and early 1960s. The officers of the Samford Student Government Association challenged a segregated concert held on campus by the [[Alabama Symphony Orchestra|Birmingham Symphony]] by inviting as guests the student government officers of nearby [[Miles College]],<ref name="Flynt">{{cite book|last=Flynt|first=Wayne Flynt|author-link=Wayne Flynt|title=Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MfwRIggZV3MC&q=Samford+segregated+concert+birmingham+Symphony+miles&pg=PA113|year=2011|publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]]|isbn=978-0817317546|page=113}}</ref> a historically black school.

Segregation by private universities was outlawed by the [[1964 Civil Rights Act]]. Initially, the school's leaders declined to express their commitment to desegregation. For example, the university declined to apply for the NDEA Student Loan Program for 1965-66 because it would have to affirm desegregation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Center|first=Lauren|date=Spring 2020|title=The Role of Finances and Religion in Samford University's Desegregation|journal=Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa|volume=44|pages=83}}</ref> [[Cumberland School of Law]] faced the greatest immediate risk of losing accreditation. In 1967, it admitted Samford's first black student, Audrey Lattimore Gaston.<ref>{{cite book|last=Flynt|first=Wayne Flynt|author-link=Wayne Flynt|title=Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MfwRIggZV3MC&pg=PA116|year=2011|publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |isbn=978-0817317546|page=116}}</ref> The entire university proceeded with desegregation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.samford.edu/history/wright2.html |access-date=April 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618054941/http://www4.samford.edu/history/wright2.html |archive-date=June 18, 2010 |title=Presidents of Samford University}}</ref> In the fall of 1969 Elizabeth Sloan Ragland became the first African American student to live on campus.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elizabeth Sloan-Ragland, Award Winner|url=https://www.samford.edu/events/50thAnniversary/awards/Elizabeth-Sloan-Ragland|access-date=2020-07-09|website=Samford University|language=en}}</ref> On June 1, 2020, the university announced the installation of a memorial honoring "the sacrifices of many African Americans for the mission and vision of Samford University even in days when their efforts were invisible or barely acknowledged." It specifically named Gaston and an enslaved servant named Harry who died while saving students from the 1854 fire.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Memorial Affirms University's Commitment to Remembrance and Reconciliation|url=https://www.samford.edu/news/updates/reconciliation-memorial|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Samford University|language=en}}</ref> A public dedication of the memorial was held on February 15, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-16 |title=Samford dedicates racial reconciliation memorial {{!}} The Alabama Baptist |url=https://thealabamabaptist.org/samford-dedicates-racial-reconciliation-memorial/,%20https://thealabamabaptist.org/samford-dedicates-racial-reconciliation-memorial/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=thealabamabaptist.org |language=en-US }}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2021, the university announced the creation of a "a four-year cohort experience for leaders among Samford’s multicultural student body" and named it in honor of Ragland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Black |first=Morgan |date=March 21, 2021 |title=Samford Announces New Scholars Experience for Multicultural Students |url=https://www.samford.edu/news/2021/03/Samford-Announces-New-Scholars-Experience-for-Multicultural-Students |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=Samford University |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, the university announced a new residence hall would be named in honor of Gaston.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 17, 2024 |title=Historic Nods to Gaston, Mann: Samford Unveils Names for New Residence Halls |url=https://www.samford.edu/news/2024/09/Historic-nods-to-Gaston-Mann-Samford-unveils-names-for-new-residence-halls |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Samford University |language=en}}</ref>