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L-r: Bill Richardson, dean of the LSU College
of Agriculture, with Pearl Payne, her daughter Carolyn Payne White, and family
friends Edward Ward and state representative Kenny Cox. Payne’s late husband,
Lutrill Payne Sr., was posthumously awarded the LSU University Medal during the
LSU College of Agriculture’s commencement ceremony. (Photo by Tobie Blanchard,
LSU AgCenter)
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Baton
Rouge, La – In 1951, Lutrill Payne Sr. filed suit against Louisiana State
University, which led to the desegregation of LSU’s graduate school. On Dec.
18, 2015 the LSU College of Agriculture recognized Payne’s accomplishments by
posthumously awarding him the LSU University Medal, LSU’s highest honor, during
its December commencement ceremony.
“Payne
advocated for racial equality and education,” Bill
Richardson, dean of the College of Agriculture and LSU vice
president for agriculture said. “Mr. Payne’s efforts paved the way for African
Americans to pursue advanced study at LSU and promoted equal opportunity within
higher education throughout Louisiana.”
Payne,
who passed away in 1999, was also a veteran of World War II and the first
African American to run for public office in Natchitoches.
Payne’s
wife of 59 years, 97-year-old Pearl Payne, attended the ceremony with her
family and friends.
“He
said he wasn’t doing this for himself,” Payne said of the lawsuit. “But he was
doing it for future generations of graduate students.”
Five
years after the lawsuit, Pearl Payne received her graduate degree from LSU in
education.
Payne’s
daughter, Carolyn Payne White, said the family was humbled and honored by this
recognition.
“LSU
remained special to my mother and father,” White said. “I know my father would
be so proud. So much has changed in the South and at LSU that it would be hard
for today’s students to imagine what it was like back then.”
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