Luther C. McClellan, First Black Graduate Of University Of Memphis, Dies At 83

McClellan was one of the Memphis State Eight, who desegregated the university in September 1959.

Luther C. McClellan, a member of the Memphis State Eight and the first Black graduate of the University of Memphis, died on July 12. McClellan graduated from the university in 1962, three years after helping to integrate the Tennessee university. In 2021, the university honored him by naming its alumni mall after him.

Eight Black students, known collectively as Memphis State Eight, desegregated the school in September 1959.

As WREG reported, McClellan’s passing was honored in statements from University of Memphis President Bill Hardgrave and the university’s Black Alumni Chapter.

“We are truly blessed for everything McClellan has done for the black community at the University as well as the University as a whole. His legacy will continue through each of us and we will continue celebrating his remarkable impact, courage, and legacy,” the Black Alumni Chapter stated.

“The University of Memphis is deeply saddened by the passing of Luther C. McClellan,” Hardgrave said. “As a member of the Memphis State Eight and the first African American graduate at our institution, Luther was a trailblazer for our university and a beloved member of the Tiger Family. His perseverance paved the way for many and allowed the UofM to become the institution it is today. He will be missed and forever remembered.”

Along with McClellan, the Memphis State Eight included Rose Blakney-Love, Eleanor Gandy, Sammie Johnson, Marvis Kneeland Jones, Bertha Rogers Looney, Ralph Prater, and John Simpson.

In 2020, the university commemorated the 60-year anniversary of the students breaking the color line at the University of Memphis. McClellan reflected on what pushed him to keep going, telling the University of Memphis Magazine, “It was my opportunity to get an education and I was not going to let that escape me.”

He continued, “I just challenged myself to focus on doing my work. If another student wanted to speak to me, that was fine with me. That was my stance on it, and it worked for me. My classmates weren’t going to buck the system and become my friend, but I do think they knew that all people were created equal.”

After McClellan’s death, the only surviving member of the group is Looney, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, after Prater’s death in 2022, only McClellan and Looney were left from the group.

According to Action News 5, McClellan’s daughter, Laverne McClellan Trent, posted on social media that no funeral arrangements have yet been made. “Soliciting your prayers. My dad Luther McClellan passed away yesterday afternoon. No arrangements have been made yet. Thank God his soul is at rest.”

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