Dawn of Diversity

UNCW Commencement, 1967

Dawn of

Diversityby Venita Jenkins

The legacy of Lela Pierce Thompson ’67 goes beyond her three granddaughters, who followed in her footsteps by attending UNC Wilmington. She also left an indelible mark on the institution as the first African American woman to graduate from the university.

Lela Pierce Thompson ’67 was surprised to learn she was UNCW’s first African American woman graduate.

Thompson had settled into her life as a wife and mother of four children when Herman Johnson ’66 encouraged her to look into Wilmington College. She and Johnson both attended Williston College, which served African American students before Wilmington College was integrated in 1962.

“I thought it would be somewhat of a burden on me to attend school,” said Thompson, who was 26 at the time. “It was kind of difficult doing housework and taking care of the family while trying to study, but I got through it.”

Johnson greeted Thompson and showed her around the three-building campus on her very first day. She felt uneasy when she learned she would be the only person of color in many of her classes, but her instructors and classmates went out of their way to make her feel comfortable, Thompson recalled.

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(left to right) Tamesha Moore ’02, Lela Pierce Thompson ’67, Kourtney Moore ’13 and Angel Moore Major ’03, ’06M

Thompson also had the support of two other African American students, Georgia Bowen ’69 and Eva Mae Smith. “We would meet and discuss the various things we had done in our classes,” Thompson said. “I don’t know how I would have made it without them.”

It wasn’t until more than 50 years later that Thompson learned she was a part of UNCW history. Cynthia Wiggs, her daughter and the business services coordinator in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, informed her mother of her special status after seeing Thompson’s name on a timeline created by the Upperman African American Cultural Center.

“I didn’t think about being the first female because later on there were two other African American females who attended,” Thompson said. “I was really surprised when Cynthia told me I was the first black woman to graduate from Wilmington College – surprised and thankful. I give God the glory because he got me through this journey, along with the support of my family.”

Thompson, the first in her family to attend college, majored in education because of her love for children and reading. She taught in New Hanover County schools for 30 years.

“I was not sure what kind of a teacher I would make, but I knew I loved children,” she said. “I also felt I could learn some things myself. Even when you’re teaching, you’re learning.”

Thompson’s passion for learning was passed down to her granddaughters, Tamesha Moore ’02, a therapeutic recreation major; Kourtney Moore ’13, an English major; and Angel Moore Major ’03, ’06M, a criminal justice major. Major earned her master’s degree in liberal studies from UNCW and received her doctorate in business administration from Walden University.

“Both my grandparents, Lela Thompson and the late Melvin Thompson, instilled the importance of education and family,” said Major, who teaches part-time at Cape Fear Community College. She is proud of Thompson’s accomplishment and excited about her grandmother’s place in UNCW history. “One thing I’ve learned from my grandmother is that anything and everything is possible.”

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