3 activists honored for fighting for desegregation at Georgia State University

ATLANTA — Georgia State University honored three activists who fought to desegregate the college in the 1950s.

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Myra Payne Elliott, 90, attended GSU’s master’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday to receive her honorary degree.

She, along with the late Barbara Pace Hunt and Iris Mae Welch, sued GSU for racial discrimination and won.

Channel 2 spoke with Elliott during her birthday celebration earlier this year.

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Elliott says she’ll never forget the day she heard the news on the radio.

“And I stopped my car and got out on the side of the highway I-20, and I thanked God for it all.”

Although the three women won the case, they never actually attended GSU.

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