Special Martin Luther King, Jr./Coretta Scott King
week event to recognize “Carolina’s Women Firsts”
UNC Walk for Health pays tribute to 5 UNC women pioneers
with an outdoor portrait exhibition
WHO: UNC Walk for Health, a health advocacy non-profit that promotes
physical fitness and mental well-being.
WHAT: UNC Walk for Health will display the portraits of 5 “Carolina’s
Women Firsts” in a special exhibition during Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr./Coretta Scott King week.
WHY: It is important to recognize the many contributions that women have
made to the progress of the University of North Carolina. These
contributions have helped make life better and more pleasant for the entire
UNC community. For example, the historic enrollment in 1897 of Sallie
Walker Stockard helped fulfill the official mission of the university, that is, to
improve the quality of life for people in this society and help solve the
biggest problems on the planet. Her graduation in 1898, at a time when she
was excluded from all ceremonies, including actual presentation of degrees
and class pictures, is truly noteworthy.
Editor’s note: As “Carolina’s Women Firsts” these 5 women embodied the
struggle for justice, inclusiveness and upward social mobility for all people.
Therefore, UNC Walk for Health will not refer to these women of important
dignity as Tar Heels because Tar Heel is an epithet that was adopted by
Confederate soldiers who fought vigorously to maintain and expand
misogyny and slavery.
WHEN: Monday-Friday, Jan. 17-Jan. 21, 2022. This outdoor exhibit will be
available for public viewing daily from 12:00pm – 12:30pm during Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr./Coretta Scott King week.
Editor’s note: In 1986, Mrs. King successfully led the movement to have a
national holiday named in honor of her late husband. In 2006, she was laid
to rest next to Dr. King’s remains in a sarcophagus within the Martin Luther
King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, GA.
WHERE: Old Well, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Honorees for the “Carolina’s Women Firsts” portrait exhibition:
Dr. Molly Broad – UNC System first woman President
Dr. Carol Folt – UNC’s first woman Chancellor
Hortense McClinton – UNC’s first Black faculty member
Karen Parker – UNC’s first Black woman undergraduate
Sallie Walker Stockard – UNC’s first woman to graduate
Coretta Scott King – First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement