Silas Herbert Hunt facts for kids

Silas Herbert Hunt (born March 1, 1922 – died April 22, 1949) was a brave U.S. Army veteran from World War II. He made history by becoming the first African American student to enroll in a white university in the Southern United States since the Reconstruction era.

On February 2, 1948, Silas Hunt joined the University of Arkansas School of Law. This important step helped break down racial barriers in higher education. His enrollment began the process of integrating colleges and universities across the South.

Silas Hunt's Early Life

Silas Hunt was born on March 1, 1922, near Ashdown, Arkansas. His parents were Jessie Gulley Moton and R.D. Hunt. When he was 14, in 1936, his family moved to Texarkana, Arkansas.

Silas attended Booker T. Washington High School. He was a very active student. He served as president of the student council and was a member of the debate team. In 1941, he graduated as the class salutatorian, which means he was the second-highest-ranking student.

Serving His Country: Silas Hunt's Military Story

After high school, Silas Hunt started college at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College in Pine Bluff. However, his studies were paused when he joined the U.S. Army in the fall of 1942. He served during World War II.

Silas was assigned to Company C of the 732nd Field Artillery Battalion. This group later became part of the 1695th Engineer Combat Battalion. They trained at Fort Picket, learning how to build roads and bridges. They also practiced combat skills. Before going to Europe, Silas was promoted to sergeant.

In October 1944, his battalion sailed to England. They arrived in Newport, Wales, on November 2. Companies B and C continued training in England until early January. On January 9, the battalion moved to Europe. Due to a mistake, they ended up near the French-Belgian border during the end of the Battle of the Bulge. Silas was seriously wounded during this time and was sent to a hospital in England. He was honorably discharged from the Army on March 7, 1946.

Returning to College: Arkansas AM&N

After the war, Silas Hunt went back to Arkansas AM&N to finish his degree. Before the war, he worked many jobs to pay for college. But after his military service, he received scholarships to help pay for the rest of his studies. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1947.

At that time, many Southern universities, including those in Arkansas, did not allow African American students to attend. Instead, they offered to pay for Black students to go to graduate or professional programs out-of-state. Silas first planned to use this policy. He applied to and was accepted by the Indiana University School of Law.

However, a classmate named Ada Lois Sipuel inspired him to change his mind. Ada Lois had applied to the all-white University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1946. She was denied admission because of her race. She then sued the university. Her case went to the U.S. Supreme Court in early 1948. On January 12, the Supreme Court ruled in her favor. This case influenced Silas, and he decided to seek admission to the University of Arkansas instead of going to Indiana.

Making History at the University of Arkansas

Breaking Down Barriers

The University of Arkansas, originally called Arkansas Industrial University, had a few Black students in its early years. In 1872 and 1873, during the Reconstruction era, at least one Black student, James McGahee, enrolled. The university's leaders voted to allow all people to enroll, "regardless of sex, sect or race." However, by the end of 1873, McGahee's name was no longer on the student lists. After a college for Black students opened in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Reconstruction ended, Black students stopped trying to enroll at the Fayetteville campus for 55 years.

In 1938, Edward W. Jacko applied but was turned down. In 1946, L. Clifford Davis also tried to get into the University of Arkansas School of Law. He was taking law classes at Howard University but thought the University of Arkansas would be cheaper. His application was rejected because his materials were supposedly incomplete. Davis planned to reapply in 1948. The dean of the Law School, Robert A. Leflar, talked with university leaders and the governor. He warned them that the university would likely face a lawsuit if they denied admission again. He suggested a slow plan to integrate the school.

On January 30, 1948, the university announced that it would allow qualified Black students to be admitted. Dean Leflar expected Davis to apply. However, Davis did not like the university's plan to separate Black and white law students. This plan meant they would have separate classes, restrooms, and library access.

Instead of Davis, Silas Hunt arrived on campus. He came with Wiley A. Branton, who wanted to join the undergraduate business college. Harold Flowers, a lawyer, and Geleve Grice, a photographer, also came. A small group of students gathered outside the law building. There were no protests. Branton said a few students came up to shake their hands and wish them well. The student newspaper published a special edition about Silas's enrollment. Most student opinions in the article supported his enrollment.

Dean Leflar reviewed Silas Hunt's school records and admitted him to the School of Law. Wiley Branton was not admitted to the undergraduate program because AM&N offered those programs. Branton returned two years later for his law degree.

How Classes Worked

Silas Hunt attended segregated law classes. He met with professors in a basement office of the Law School building. Professors taught a class of white students upstairs. Then, they went downstairs to teach the same class again for Silas. Soon, three to five white students started going downstairs to join Silas's class. They did this partly to show support and partly because the smaller class allowed them more time with the professors.

Silas lived with an African American family near downtown Fayetteville. He walked about a mile and a half to campus every day.

He completed the full spring semester and part of a summer session. In late July 1948, he became very sick with tuberculosis. He had to leave school. Silas Hunt passed away in April 1949 at a veterans hospital in Springfield, Missouri.

Silas Hunt's Lasting Impact

In the fall of 1948, Jackie Shropshire became the second African American student at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Edith Irby Jones enrolled in the university's medical school in 1948. Benjamin Franklin Lever joined a graduate program in agronomy in 1949. All three graduated in 1951. The university integrated its undergraduate colleges that same year. However, housing and sports programs remained segregated until the 1960s.

Silas Hunt's brave enrollment is remembered on the University of Arkansas campus. A sculpture stands near where the old Law School building used to be. The university's admissions building is named after him. The university also created the Silas H. Hunt Legacy Award. This award honors African American professors and alumni who have made important contributions to their community, state, or nation. In 2008, on the 60th anniversary of his enrollment, the university gave Silas Hunt a law degree after his death.

Silas Hunt's admission paved the way for other African American students to seek enrollment in white public universities across the South. In 1950, a federal court ordered the University of Virginia to admit Gregory Swanson. He faced challenges on campus and left after a year. North Carolina's School of Law followed in 1951, and Tennessee desegregated by 1952, both due to court rulings. Louisiana State University enrolled A.P. Tureaud, Jr., in 1953. Universities in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Mississippi did not integrate until the 1960s.