Despite a desegregation mandate, public colleges and universities in Georgia remained racially segregated in 1956. Despite this, three black women, Myra Payne Elliot, Barbara Pace Hunt, and Iris Mae Welch, applied to attend the Georgia State College of Business Administration (now Georgia State University). They were denied admission.
These three became plaintiffs in a groundbreaking lawsuit that would change the landscape of opportunity and access for African American applicants. However, these three women never realized their dreams of attending GSU.
In Fall of 2022 The University unanimously approved honorary degrees for Georgia State’s “Ground Crew” at the university’s December commencement. This portrait was created to pay tribute to these pioneering women.