On August 28, 1963, the same day Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, Charles Dudley set foot on Emory College’s campus as its first Black student.

Advised to desegregate Emory College by then-Morehouse College president, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, Dudley became a pioneer for increased college admission for Black students in the South.

As a student, Dudley majored in history with a pre-medicine track, and, according to his brother, Julius Dudley ’61, “In some situations, it would be difficult for [Charles] to challenge them vigorously because he did not have any person of color there to help support him.”

“After graduating from Emory, Charles Dudley served in the U.S. Army from 1967-69 and later worked as a life support technician at the Emory University Hospital, under Chief of the Thoracic Surgery Department Charles Hatcher from 1969-72. In 1975, he moved to Canada, where, by 1979, he had become active in developing awareness of Black History in British Columbia.

Source: 2020 These Halls Can Talk Interview with Dr. Charles Dudley, EmoryWheel.com

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