UNCW Commencement, 1967
Dawn of Diversity
by Venita Jenkins
The legacy of Lela Pierce Thompson ’67 goes beyond her three granddaughters, who followed in her footsteps by attending UNC Wilmington. She also left an indelible mark on the institution as the first African American woman to graduate from the university. Thompson had settled into her life as a wife and mother of four children when Herman Johnson ’66 encouraged her to look into Wilmington College. She and Johnson both attended Williston College, which served African American students before Wilmington College was integrated in 1962.
Lela Pierce Thompson ’67 was surprised to learn she was UNCW’s first African American woman graduate.
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“I thought it would be somewhat of a burden on me to attend school,” said Thompson, who was 26 at the time. “It was kind of difficult doing housework and taking care of the family while trying to study, but I got through it.” Johnson greeted Thompson and showed her around the three-building campus on her very first day. She felt uneasy when she learned she would be the only person of color in many of her classes, but her instructors and classmates went out of their way to make her feel comfortable, Thompson recalled.
