DUBLIN, Ga. — On Saturday, people at the Dublin Honors Ball, celebrated those who made a big difference in the small town.
This year's celebration honored the Magnificent Seven- a group of women who integrated Dublin High School in 1965.
The women volunteered to desegregate Dublin High School to test reactions and responses from the community.
Their names are Ceola Whipple, Gwendolyn D. Johnson, Sharon L. Tucker, Betty McRae, Sonja Ricks, Doris Kellam, and Mattie M. McGirt.
Tucker said when she left Oconee High School to join Dublin High School as a junior, she left behind her friends.
"Often at lunchtime, I ate alone. If I sat at a table with others, they would get up and leave," Tucker said.
She still maintained the friendships from her old school, but the culture at Dublin High School did take a toll on her.
"I never feared for my physical safety. I think it was more the emotional turmoil. It clearly was not a welcoming place," Tucker said.
She made it through two years at the school and remembered why she started the journey when times were hard.
"I did not see it as historic. I was motivated because I thought that my life as a black girl in the southwest, in Middle Georgia, was unfair," she said.
Her high school experiences encouraged her to become a lawyer.
"I think that diversity adds so much to who we are and who we can be, and understanding life," Tucker said.
At the time, she said the city was afraid of commotion, so the school integration was kept under wraps as much as possible. The women were also in different classrooms.
She said she wishes the group of women spent more time together but is glad they came back together for a weekend to celebrate their work from almost 60 years ago.
"It's about time. I also think that you know, history is what it is and we can take lessons from it, or we will unfortunately repeat them," Tucker said.
In 1970, the work of the Magnificent Seven opened the door for acceptance of full integration in Dublin.
Tucker, Whipple, Johnson, McRae, and McGirt were in attendance on Saturday. Family for Kellam and Ricks attended in their honor.
Tucker was also honored for being the first African American to receive a doctorate of law from the University of Georgia's Law Center.
Other honorees included:
- Elizabeth Green, Director of Marketing at Fariview Park Hospital
- Iesha Redd, Cofounder of Dublin and Laurens County Juneteenth Celebration
- Erik Walden, NFL Super Bowl athlete
- Thomas Walker, community leader
- Barbara J. Martin, Kid's Kingdom Nursery
- James Deal, TV35