SJR80 Summary

• Records the death on March 2, 2022, of Mrs. Autherine Lucy Foster at age 92 and offers tribute to her life and sympathy to her family

• Recognizes Mrs. Foster as the first Black student at the University of Alabama, enrolled in 1956 following the Brown v. Board of Education decision, nearly two years after the Supreme Court declared segregation unconstitutional

• Details her legal battle to gain admission after university officials initially rejected her upon discovering her race, and her case as the first test of federal authority to implement desegregation

• Notes her life after moving to Texas with her husband in 1956, where she faced continued discrimination in seeking teaching positions, and her eventual return to earn a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Alabama

• Acknowledges the university's later recognition including the 2010 dedication of the Autherine Lucy Clock Tower, 2019 honorary doctorate, and renaming of the College of Education building in her honor less than three weeks before her death