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http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/12/uab_..._part.html

Bell said the work of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Joseph Volker, UAB's first president, went hand in hand to move Birmingham forward from the dark days of Jim Crow.

Volker in the early 60s worked to desegregate the medical school, the dental school, the hospital, and the non-health science campus. King's work at that time helped make Birmingham more inviting to people who come here from around the world because of UAB's research facilities, Bell said.

"(Volker) realized we could not succeed unless all people succeeded together," Bell said. "This institution has brought people from around the world ... Without the work Dr. King did, that would not have been possible."

FOX6 WBRC-TV ‏@myfoxal
In 1963, UAB integrated w/out the threat of federal action. Ton @ 9 they share how they'll mark the momentous year in the Civil Rights era

As a separate university in the U of AL System, UAB did not exist until 1969. Before that it was an UA extension center.

(12-06-2012 10:19 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/12/uab_..._part.html

Bell said the work of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Joseph Volker, UAB's first president, went hand in hand to move Birmingham forward from the dark days of Jim Crow.

Volker in the early 60s worked to desegregate the medical school, the dental school, the hospital, and the non-health science campus. King's work at that time helped make Birmingham more inviting to people who come here from around the world because of UAB's research facilities, Bell said.

"(Volker) realized we could not succeed unless all people succeeded together," Bell said. "This institution has brought people from around the world ... Without the work Dr. King did, that would not have been possible."

FOX6 WBRC-TV ‏@myfoxal
In 1963, UAB integrated w/out the threat of federal action. Ton @ 9 they share how they'll mark the momentous year in the Civil Rights era

Good stuff!

As a stand-alone university, my alma mater has never been segregated. I'm proud of that. I'm particularly proud the governor didn't make an ass of himself in front of the world on our front porch.

Keep in mind that this decade has a couple of anniversaries at the end of it. In 2019 the state will be 200 years old (Dec. 14th) and UAB will be 50 years old. In 2021 (one year after we host the Olympics ;<)) B'ham will be 150 years old. We don't need the concurrence of any international committee to celebrate any of that.

(12-07-2012 09:23 AM)Smaug Wrote:  As a stand-alone university, my alma mater has never been segregated. I'm proud of that. I'm particularly proud the governor didn't make an ass of himself in front of the world on our front porch.

Birmingham sure has come a long way from 1963. A former co-worker, now retired, was a fresh out of school bomb disposal tech at Ft. McClellan in 1963. He and his partner worked 48 hours on, sleeping on a cot in a garage with a telephone next to the bomb disposal truck, then 5 days off and on call when they were at home, but still having to keep up with their regular duty. Every call was a bomb threat, and for several years he cringed when the phone rang.

(12-07-2012 09:23 AM)Smaug Wrote:  As a stand-alone university, my alma mater has never been segregated. I'm proud of that. I'm particularly proud the governor didn't make an ass of himself in front of the world on our front porch.

As a fan of UAB, I feel the same way.

(12-07-2012 09:23 AM)Smaug Wrote:  As a stand-alone university, my alma mater has never been segregated. I'm proud of that. I'm particularly proud the governor didn't make an ass of himself in front of the world on our front porch.

Yes. This is the greatest reason I want to separate from the Tuscaloosa cesspool of racism and hate: I want no part of their "class" or "tradition" sullying our proud name.