Dr. Horace Traylor applied again and again for admission as a student to the University of Chattanooga. As the first African American to graduate from the institution, Dr. Traylor’s persistence broke the barrier for entrance into Chattanooga’s university, later named The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Dr. Traylor offers one of the student voices in a new documentary, Reaching the Light:  The Story of the Desegregation of the University of Chattanooga. The film will premiere on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m., in the UC Auditorium of the UTC University Center, with overflow seating in the Tennessee Rooms of the University Center. 

This special Chattanooga event honors 50 years of African American Achievement at the University of Tennessee.

“At one time, the doors to the University were not open to all. This film tells the story of how very brave people made history and brought much needed change,” UTC Chancellor Roger Brown said.

This project records an important part of the history of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and of the students, faculty and community members who were involved with desegregating the school, according to Dr. Betsy Alderman, head of the UTC Department of Communication, who served as executive producer of the documentary.

“It was the quiet determination of all of those involved that made the desegregation process at the University of Chattanooga one of the most peaceful in the country,” Dr. Alderman said. 

She adds that as the personal stories unfold on screen, the viewer will see how campus desegregation fits into a local and national context within the Civil Rights movement.

Dr. Felicia McGhee-Hilt, assistant professor in the UTC Department of communication, and Mike Andrews, instructor of Communication and Director of the UTC Digital Production Studio, produced the video. Funding for the project was provided by the UTC Office of Equity and Diversity. Dr. McGhee-Hilt conducted the interviews on campus over a series of months. She found “stories that are filled with struggle, but are yet uplifting.”

“This is a story that has never been told and it desperately needs to be. I have been completely humbled by this project because it has truly been a labor of love. My father marched in many civil rights demonstrations and suffered through police beatings; however, after listening to these first black students at UC it makes it clear to me that while we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go,” said Dr. McGhee-Hilt.