Class of 1964 Statement
They enrolled as freshmen in 1960
at Tougaloo Southern Christian College. In 1964, They graduated from Tougaloo College, slightly older and
much wiser. The Eagle Queen roused the
eaglets from the nest, confident they could pass various tests in a hostile
world. She was right. They could, and they did. They were, after all, the Class of 1964. In their innocent fantasies, they were the
best Tougaloo students the College had ever had or would ever have. It is fair to suspect that a half century
later, a few of them still hold fast to the fantasy or the possible dream. And
to paraphrase Charlene Smith Cole, Class of 1954 , wherever they went, whatever they did,
they did not forget dear old Tougaloo.
From 1964 to 2014, we fulfilled the
expectations Tougaloo College had for us.
We became productive citizens of the United State of America. Some of us became famous in accordance with
the world’s measure of fame. Some of us
became famous by accidents of history. All of us worked, because not one of us
had inherited wealth worthy of mention.
We became doctors, writers, lawyers and judges, teachers, military
officers, parents and grandparents, valuable members of the various communities
wherein we lived; we became administrators in commercial, industrial, and
educational enterprises, and advocates for civil and human rights, demanding
the justice that change never permits to become permanent in our society. In short, all of us became the valuable
adults Tougaloo College wanted us to be.
I am notorious for remembering all
the wrong things at the right time.
Therefore, I yield the floor to my friend and fraternity brother John
Sheridan Page, Jr. Far better than I
can, John remembers all the right things with just the right flavoring of
humor.
Jerry W. Ward, Jr.
