Unlocking Doors: How Gregory Swanson Challenged the University of Virginia’s Resistance to Desegregation.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This case study is focused on the integration of the all White, southern, public University of Virginia and desegregation in the state of Virginia. The objective of the study is to provide a detailed account of the University of Virginia’s resistance to desegregation and to study events before its integration by examining the experience of Gregory Swanson, a 25-year-old who applied for admission to the university’s law school in 1949, and, as a result of a lawsuit, became the first African American to gain admission. This challenge to the University of Virginia forced it to facilitate rights for equal access to education based on Swanson’s application to the law school. The case study is drawn from scholarly documents, institutional records, news articles, court cases, letters, and interviews.