Twenty UF graduates were commemorated Saturday night during "Celebrating the Firsts," a gala honoring UF's earliest known black graduates.
W. George Allen graduated from the UF Levin College of Law in 1962 and went on to file a lawsuit that integrated Broward County schools.
Jeraldine Williams-Shaw graduated from UF's College of Journalism and Communications in 1967 and would later record history as a writer for Ebony-South Africa during the abolishment of apartheid.
"We can stand here because you stood," said UF sophomore Kayla Morse to an audience of more than 250 people, including honorees, their families and select UF staff and faculty.
Morse, along with other representatives from UF's Black Student Union Leadership Council began the program with a song and speech performance entitled, "We Speak Your Names."
"We never would have made it without you," they sang in harmony during the dinner program at the President's Ballroom at Emerson Alumni Hall.
The night's festivities continued with the announcement that a commemorative brick circle would be created around the bronze alligator located next to University Auditorium next fall.
Each honoree will have their names engraved into the bricks that will encircle the alligator.
The graduates were recognized one-by-one to standing ovations. The families of deceased recipients stood in their graduates' honor. Only the names and graduation dates of five honorees were announced.
"This is their last known information," said Courtney Cunningham, host of the gala.
Black Student Union Leadership Council directors Archie Moss and Romilda Justilien said they were inspired by the first UF African-American graduates.
"It was breathtaking to be in the presence of all these great people," said Moss, a second-year business major.
"You never think about what it took before you and the obstacles," said Justilien, a second-year FCYS major. "This movement is only 50 years old after all. It's still new."
