Lest We Forget: WSSU Black History Facts
As we honor Black History Month, we commemorate Winston-Salem State University’s long and distinguished list of firsts and its contributions to the transformative milestones of the collective African American journey.
![](/about/news/articles/2024/02/_files/news-wstc-black_history.jpg)
In 1925, Slater Academy became Winston-Salem Teachers College, the first black institution in the nation authorized to offer a bachelor’s degree in education.
In 1957, 12 students made history, becoming the first to earn their Bachelor of Nursing from Winston-Salem Teachers College. Due to segregation in North Carolina, the students had to travel as far as New York for training.
![black and white photo of nurses](/about/news/articles/2024/02/_files/news-nursing-blackhistory.jpg)
![Historic Marker](/about/news/articles/2024/02/_files/news-sit-in-blackhistory.jpg)
On Feb. 23, 1960, 11 WSSU students, joined with 10 white students from Wake Forest, were arrested, jailed and found guilty of trespassing during a joint sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in downtown Winston-Salem. Three months later, an agreement was reached, and Winston-Salem’s lunch counters were integrated, marking the first sit-in victory in the state.
Other firsts
- 1951 – Winston-Salem Teachers College graduate Edward O. Diggs becomes the first Black student admitted to the UNC medical school.
- 1952 – Rachel Diggs Wilkerson becomes first WSSU alumni to earn a Ph.D.
- 1953 – WSSU’s first CIAA championship of any kind (basketball).
- 1959 – WSTC wins its first national championship, the NAIA Track Championships. The team repeated in 1960.
- 1960 – WSSU Professor Lillian Lewis becomes the first Black school board member in Forsyth County.
- 1961 – Alumnus Eldridge D. Alston becomes Forsyth County’s first Black deputy sheriff.
- 1961 – Cleo Hill, first CIAA player chosen in the first round of the NBA draft.
- 1968 – Patricia Johansson, first white graduate at WSSU.
- 1972 – First Chancellor, K.R. Williams