October 27, 2025
The statue now replaces an iconic fountain that was destroyed during an arctic blast.
A college in East Tennessee is remembering its students who paved the way for educational equity.
East Tennessee State University has unveiled a new statue that commemorates the first Black students to integrate the school in 1958. The statue includes five life-size bronze sculptures of Eugene Caruthers, Elizabeth Watkins Crawford, Clarence McKinney, George L. Nichols, and Mary Luellen Owens Wagner.
The piece was commissioned following an arctic blast that ruined ETSU’s iconic fountain, which first paid tribute to the students. Detroit artist Austen Brantley also spoke to WJHL about his hopes for the structure’s long-lasting impact.
“I think it’s about legacy,” Brantley said. “What we leave behind. It’s really important to create things that are not just for me, but for my whole community.”
Titled “The Path,” the statue was formally unveiled Oct. 25. University leaders selected Brantley after he submitted his design for the reimagined tribute. He used old photographs and stories about this historic cohort to create the sculptures. Brantley is also using AI to improve picture quality and get more explicit images of the students.
“These students had a journey together, and you will see this in how they are placed,” added Brantley in a news release. “They are banded together in art, just as they are in history, because of what they went through.”
Founded in Johnson City, Tennessee, in 1911, the school was established to serve young scholars within the eastern Appalachian region. Its programs include a unique curriculum in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music, and the school boasts Appalachian Studies and the only Master’s program in Storytelling. Its medical school, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, is also recognized as a top institution for rural medical study.
According to the East Tennessean, the school was able to integrate relatively peacefully, a feat among the violence against Black students who enrolled in white institutions at the time. As of 2023, it had 824 Black students enrolled at the institution amongst its roughly 13,500 undergraduate and graduate students, per Data USA.
Some of its esteemed honorees even attended the unveiling. One of the trailblazing alums, George Nichols, also shared how the sculpture will stand as a reminder of their courage.
“Their strength and resolve opened doors for countless others and marked a turning point in the pursuit of equality and justice,” shared Nichols. “As we honor this legacy, may this courage continue to inspire future generations to stand firm in their convictions, pursue their aspirations without fear, and build a more inclusive and compassionate future for all.”
The statue also affirms ESTU’s commitment to embracing and recognizing its whole history. The move marks a win for diversity principles amid the movement against DEI in higher education.
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