Wendell Wilkie Gunn was the first black student enrolled at Florence State University on Sept. 11, 1963. 50 years later, he delivered a speech at the twenty-third annual convocation, welcoming freshmen and transfer students.

“We can talk about desegegration,” Gunn said. “That’s a short subject: it happened. I’m not going to talk about race except to the extent that it has some relevance to the youngsters who are in this audience.”

Gunn’s experiences at college were what he described as “positive,” though he said that was due in part to the fact that no one talked to him until he received an achievement award in physics. Gunn received a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and mathematics, which he tied into his speech to encourage students.

“I hope that what you heard in [my stories] was that the derivative of x to the n power is equal to n times x to the ten minus one,” Gunn said. “It’s true at Harvard, it’s true at MIT, just like it is at the University of North Alabama. You do what you have to do here and you’ll do just fine out there.”

Gunn’s mother contacted attorney Fred Gray when Gunn was told by the university president, E. B. Norton, that he would have to appeal to court to attend school. As a result, Gunn said, his mother lost her job and his father’s job became significantly more difficult.

“You’re in a public university,” Gunn said. “You’re here because there are a lot of people outside who sacrificed for you to be here, including people who couldn’t go to college themselves. So if you’re here just to get ready to go back out there and get in front of them in line for a job, then you’re wasting a chair in this university. They expect more of you. They expect you to do things that improve life for them. They expect you to make a difference.”