65 years ago yesterday, Ralph Long Jr. was one of the first Black students to enroll at Georgia Tech. Today, his grandson, Ralph Long IV, is continuing a family legacy on the same campus his grandfather helped integrate.
Ralph Long Jr., along with Ford Greene and Lawrence Williams, became the first Black men admitted to Georgia Tech in 1961. These men, known as the Three Pioneers, have their legacy honored on campus with statues commemorating the barriers they broke.
Long Jr. went on to become the first Black systems engineer in the Southeast at IBM Atlanta. Today, Long IV is a graduate of Benjamin E. Mays High School, where he graduated with high honors, ranked in the top 10% of his class, and earned the highest SAT score in his graduating class. He is pursuing a degree in computer engineering. 🐝
#WeCanDoThat