TCU officially welcomed people from all races as students on January 23, 1964, when the university was 91 years old. Featured panelist James Cash ’69 was the first Black scholarship athlete in the Southwest Conference and at TCU. A two-time Academic All-American, he became a professor at Harvard Business School and eventually the first tenured Black professor there. Today a building on that campus bears his name.

Integration into all corners of TCU has continued to unfold for the past 50 years. Every time someone stepped into the role of being the first, they opened doors for others to follow. That work continues in the 21st century.

In this academic year, TCU’s 149th, the presidencies of the Student Government Association and Graduate Student Senate are — for the first time — held by Black people.

Panelist Leslie Ekpe is president of TCU’s Graduate Student Senate. She is a third-year doctoral student in the higher educational leadership program from Lewisville, Texas. She intends to join the professorate in higher education after graduating.

Panelist Lau’Rent Honeycutt is a junior marketing major at TCU and president of the Student Government Association. The Huntsville, Alabama, native ran on a campaign with the theme “Let’s Do More.” He plans to become an executive in the television industry.

Moderator and TCU Magazine contributor Brandon Kitchin ’18 starts the conversation with a look back to the earliest days of campus integration, discusses the many benefits of Black leadership, and ends on an inspiring look at the next steps in the university’s evolution into true inclusivity.