The Brief
- 81-year-old Cheryl Hurdle Wyatt will graduate from the University of North Texas at Dallas this week, completing a 60-year journey to her degree.
- As a young girl, Wyatt was a key figure in a historic 1955 Dallas NAACP lawsuit to desegregate public schools.
- She credits her late father’s perseverance and belief that “it’s never too late” as the inspiration for returning to college.
DALLAS – History will be made this week when the University of North Texas at Dallas holds its commencement. Among the graduates is an 81-year-old woman with an incredible story.
Cheryl Hurdle Wyatt’s Story
The backstory:
Cheryl Hurdle Wyatt first made history back in 1955 when, as a 10-year-old girl, she and her sister were part of a historic Dallas NAACP lawsuit to desegregate Dallas public schools.
“When my parents moved us to South Dallas from Oak Cliff, and we were five doors from the school at the end of the corner that was all white, and we were not allowed to attend,” she said. “I do remember the principal saying you can’t come to this school.”…