Fannie Smith Motley

Fannie Smith Motley (1927-2016) was the first African American graduate of a previously all-white college in Alabama. She graduated from Spring Hill College with honors in 1956 and went on to a teaching career in Mobile and later in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is shown here at a Spring Hill graduation ceremony in the 2010s.

Fannie Motley at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama
Courtesy of Spring Hill College Archives

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Fannie Motley at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama