By Mikala McCurry Associate Journalist
Harold Franklin is a dedicated individual that refused to let racial stigmas get in the way of his education. He was determined to accomplish his goals by any means necessary. By becoming the first African-American to be admitted into Auburn University, Franklin was part of a movement that completely altered the system of education in colleges and universities around the state of Alabama.
Harold Franklin was born in Sylacauga, Alabama. Ever since Franklin was young, he dreamed of being a lawyer. He attended Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama and graduated with honors with a degree in government and psychology. After graduating from ASU, Franklin sought out character references to refer him to a law school in Alabama.
Originally, Harold Franklin never considered Auburn University as an option for undergraduate or graduate studies. His father made him work on a farm during his childhood, so he was not interested in any college whose main focus was agriculture. He had his mind set on attending the University of Alabama, but his test scores would have kept him from being admitted.
Fred Gray, one of the few black lawyers in Montgomery, suggested that Franklin apply to Auburn University as part of the NAACP effort to integrate all colleges and universities in Alabama. Franklin was hesitant at first, but Gray convinced him that he was the perfect candidate. Harold Franklin was a 31 year old married man, honorably discharged from the United States Air Force, an ASU graduate with honors, and had no criminal record; Gray assured him that there was absolutely no valid reason for his admittance into Auburn University to be denied.
Both Franklin and Gray were shocked when Franklin was denied admittance from the graduate program at Auburn University in 1963. The university claimed that Franklin was denied because his former school, Alabama State University, lack accreditation; ASU lost its accreditation two years prior to Franklin’s graduation due to a lack of funding from the government.
Harold Franklin refused to accept this defeat without a fight. He and his lawyer, Fred Gray, filed a lawsuit against Auburn University, stating that the rejection of Harold Franklin into the graduate program violated his constitutional rights. The court ruled in favor of Franklin, claiming that the lack of accreditation from his prior school was the fault of the government for allowing predominantly white institutions to keep fundings to remain accredited while allowing historically black colleges and universities to slip through the cracks.
On January 4, 1964, Harold Franklin became the first African-American student to attend Auburn University. He was also able to successfully sue the university to force them to provide on-campus housing for him. For his safety, Franklin was isolated in his own wing of the housing complex. On the day that Harold Franklin came to Auburn University to register for classes, the campus was shut down; the only people allowed to come on campus were students, staff, police officers, and reporters that were documenting this monumental occasion. Franklin was also escorted around campus by state troopers, which he thought to be very unnecessary.
Harold Franklin lived a lonely life at Auburn University. Most of the students ignored him; the ones that acknowledged him would often make racial slurs and spit at him. Because Franklin had no family or friends in Auburn, he spent most of his free time visiting his wife and newborn son in Montgomery. Franklin stayed at Auburn for two years before realizing that the university would do everything in its power to keep him from succeeding. He left Auburn University in 1966 after professors refused to let him write his thesis on the civil rights movement; they claimed that the topic was too controversial. Franklin knew then that he would not be graduating from Auburn University.
After leaving Auburn University, Franklin began teaching at various HBCUs including Alabama State University, Tuskegee University, and Talladega College, where he retired from in 1992. He also received his master’s degree during this time from the University of Denver.
Although Franklin did not graduate from Auburn University, he took a courageous step towards integration on the campus by being the first black student. For his tenacious effort, he received an honorary doctorate from Auburn University in 2001. He was also honored during the reveal of Auburn University’s newest historical marker that signifies the university’s desegregation. A group of African-American male students at Auburn University also started the Harold A. Franklin Society; this organization is an all male group geared towards recruiting and welcoming minority males to Auburn University. When asked about his relationship with Auburn University, Franklin still maintains that he never intended to attend Auburn University or jumpstart integration in colleges and universities in Alabama; he simply says “I was in the right place at the right time.”
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