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“You Can't Afford To Flinch In The Face Of Duty”: Judge William Augustus Bootle And The Desegregation Of The University Of Georgia, Patrick Emery Longan
“You Can't Afford To Flinch In The Face Of Duty”: Judge William Augustus Bootle And The Desegregation Of The University Of Georgia, Patrick Emery Longan
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On January 6, 1961, United States District Judge William Augustus Bootle granted a permanent injunction that required the University of Georgia to admit its first two black students, Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne A. Hunter. The backlash began immediately. Newspaper editorials condemned the decision. The Governor of Georgia threatened to close the University. Students rioted. A man escaped from an insane asylum, armed himself and went looking for Charlayne Hunter at her dormitory. Judge Bootle received numerous critical letters, including some that were threatening. Yet Judge Bootle’s attitude was that he did no more than what his position as a …