A.P. Tureaud Jr. tells his friend Steven Walkley about becoming the first African-American undergraduate at Louisiana State University in 1953.
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Piece Description
A.P. Tureaud Jr. tells his friend Steven Walkley about becoming the first African-American undergraduate at Louisiana State University in 1953.
Transcript
A.P. Tureaud Jr. (AT): When I got to LSU, I was miserable. The students wouldn't speak to me. I think someone had decided that if they totally isolated me I would leave.
Steven Walkley (SW): Did you have a roommate?
AT: No, I was in a room, but there were students on either side and they took turns trying to keep me up at night with radios going, banging on the walls, if I walked in the showers everybody walked out, and the professors wouldn't touch my papers. One woman even said, "I've never taught a negro. How am I going to get through this term?"
AT: So LSU, they have a Bengal tiger as their mascot, Mike the tiger. And Mike had a big cage and a swimming pool, and his place was right across from my dorm room. So I used to go out in the morning and talk to Mike. I'd say, "Mike, you're in jail and I'm in jail ... how we get out of this?"
AT: So I'm sitting there talking to Mike and t...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Time again for StoryCorps.
Today -- we'll hear from A-P Tureaud Jr. <
... who helped integrate Louisiana State University in 1953.
His first application to the school was rejected because he is black.
Tureaud's <
... and he was soon allowed to enroll as a freshman, becoming the first and only black undergraduate on campus.
He talked about the experience at StoryCorps with his friend, Steven Walkley <
That's A-P Tureaud Jr<
Tureaud <
Earlier THIS year, L-S-U gave him an honorary doctorate.
His StoryCorps conversation will be archived at the Library of Congress.
And you can get the project's PODCAST at NPR-dot-ORG.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mo' Better Blues | Bill Lee/ The Branford Marsalis Quartet Featuring Terrence Blanchard | Music from Mo' Better Blues. | Columbia CBS Records | 1990 | 00:32 |
Additional Credits
NPR, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
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