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still shot from the documentary, The Strange Demise of Jim Crow
Dr. Samuel Nabrit in a recent interview
Nabrit was President of TSU from 1955-1966. Nabrit promised that no student would ever be expelled for civil rights activities as long as he was president of the university.
Nabrit supported student protests against the wishes of many white politicians and businessmen who tried to persuade him otherwise. Nabrit balanced conflicting pressures and loyalties during the student protest movement in Houston. Nabrit publicly supported the movement and its goals while cooperating with the mayor's efforts to contain militant student leaders. He publicly supported the students' democratic rights to protest yet quietly decided that the movement's headquarters should be removed from the TSU campus.
Nabrit received a PhD in biological sciences from Brown University in 1932. He was the first black to receive a doctorate degree from Brown University. Nabrit was a member of Dwight Eisenhower's National Science Board and was appointed as the first black to serve on the Atomic Energy Commission by President LBJ (June 1966). Nabrit was also the first African American trustee at Brown University (1967).
Dr. Samuel Nabrit is currently retired and living in Atlanta.we would be grateful to hear your personal stories, suggestions and comments