Episode 256 The Forgotten History of Autherine Lucy with Guest Lexi Boese

This week on Family Plot, we’re joined by our youngest plotter—8-year-old Lexi Boese—who asked us to tell the story of Autherine Juanita Lucy, the first Black student admitted to the University of Alabama. Her brave enrollment in 1956 was court-ordered and historic… and it ignited the largest anti-integration riot in American history. What followed was a shameful twist: Lucy was expelled “for her safety”—a coward’s move cloaked as concern. Even the local Birmingham paper applauded the university’s decision, celebrating the city’s “peace”—a peace built on exclusion. (Yeah… that didn’t age well.) In this episode, we dive into Lucy’s incredible journey:Her decision to challenge segregationThe three harrowing days she spent on campusThe court’s demand to reinstate her—and the university’s retaliatory slander banHer triumphant return in 1988, earning a master’s degree the same year her daughter graduated with a BAThis isn’t just a story—it’s resistance wrapped in legacy. And with Lexi, Arthur, Laura, and Dean at the table, we explore how one woman’s courage changed history. Pull up a seat. Let’s learn something. #AutherineLucy #CivilRightsHero #FamilyPlotPodcast #LetsLearnSomething #BlackHistory #HistoryPodcast #AmplifyBlackVoices #TrailblazerThursday #PG13WithHeartBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.