This Day in Georgia History
January 12, 1961
Professors Protest Hunter/Holmes Suspension
The University of Georgia chapter of the American Association of University Professors called for a faculty meeting to protest the suspension of Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes the night before. A petition calling for their reinstatement was signed by 340 University faculty. One member of the University System Board of Regents – ardent segregationist Roy Harris – then demanded to see a list of which faculty had signed the petition. Governor Ernest Vandiver condemned the violence, and though he continued to oppose integration he now conceded that Georgia would have to accept some integration of its public schools.
