{"id":36078,"date":"2025-01-31T16:35:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T21:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=36078"},"modified":"2025-02-03T13:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T18:49:00","slug":"joseph-vaughns-courage-a-model-for-all-at-furman-to-embrace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/joseph-vaughns-courage-a-model-for-all-at-furman-to-embrace\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Vaughn\u2019s courage a model for all at Furman to embrace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joseph Vaughn\u2019s steps across Furman University\u2019s campus on Jan. 29, 1965 carried the weight of his courage and conviction and led him up the steps of the James B. Duke Library \u00a0\u2013 a moment immortalized in bronze at Joseph Vaughn Plaza.<\/p>\n

Sixty years and two days later, hundreds of members of the Furman and Upstate communities gathered there for Joseph Vaughn Day<\/a> to hear thoughts about Vaughn and to take the Walk of Honor to Daniel Chapel where Furman University President Elizabeth Davis spoke, Jackie Carson<\/a> \u201900 who was honored by the Black Alumni Award and student \u00a0Soukeyna Pitroipa \u201925 received a standing ovation for her speech.<\/p>\n

\"A

Marcus Tate \u201912, Joseph Vaughn\u2019s cousin, lights a candle in honor of Vaughn during the Joseph Vaughn Day Commemoration at Daniel Chapel on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

But it\u2019s not only Vaughn\u2019s bravery that day that people celebrate. It was his tenacity, said Furman President Elizabeth Davis.<\/p>\n

Marcus Tate<\/a> \u201912, Joseph Vaughn\u2019s cousin, lights a candle in honor of Vaughn during the Joseph Vaughn Day Commemoration at Daniel Chapel on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe celebrate Joseph Vaughn for what he also did on Saturday, January 30, 1965. He stayed,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

And he wasn\u2019t the only one. Vaughn made lifelong friends with Sarah Reese \u201971 and Lillian Brock Flemming<\/a> \u201971, who were among the first Black students to enroll after the university desegregated. Flemming shared with the crowd Friday that Vaughn\u2019s accolades don\u2019t often include his status as \u201cbest friend ever\u201d or \u201cbest cheerleader.\u201d He encouraged them when they struggled to find a place at Furman.<\/p>\n

Flemming recalled how Reese was ready to leave Furman one weekend. Vaughn put his foot down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait just a minute, neither of you are going to quit,\u201d Flemming recalled him saying. \u201cWe have to lead the pathway for other young kids to follow. This is bigger than the three of us all together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrying their courage forward<\/h3>\n

Inside Daniel Chapel, Marcus Tate \u201912, lit a memorial candle for his cousin. Remarking on Flemming\u2019s story, Davis said everyone at Furman can embody Vaughn\u2019s resolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurman University will continue to celebrate our courageous students for many years to come,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"A

Lillian Brock Fleming \u201971 speaks at Joseph Vaughn Plaza in front of the James B. Duke Library as part of the Joseph Vaughn Day commemoration on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

Students like the roughly 1,300 Black alumni who followed in Vaughn\u2019s footsteps, said Black Alumni Council<\/a> President Rev. Reggie Garrett \u201998. Included in their ranks is Idella Goodson Glenn \u201984, for whom the annual Outstanding Black Alumni Award is named.<\/p>\n

Glenn worked for 18 years as Furman\u2019s director of multicultural affairs and assistant vice president for student development. She was also a friend, a big sister and a role model, Garrett said. As Glenn took to the lectern to present the award, she said it was going to someone who embodied the encouraging mentorship Vaughn demonstrated: Former Paladin head women\u2019s basketball coach Jackie Carson \u201900.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be connected to anything bearing your name is an honor,\u201d Carson told Glenn as they embraced.<\/p>\n

Carson went from undergraduate star player to a 13-year career as Furman\u2019s head women\u2019s basketball coach. She\u2019s now the ACC\u2019s senior associate commissioner for women\u2019s basketball, and every step of the way, she said, she tried to be the kind of mentor to her players that Glenn was for her. She was part of a long line of Black women who paved the way for generations more to come.<\/p>\n

\"A

A crowd of students, faculty, staff and community members takes the Walk of Honor to Daniel Chapel as part of the Joseph Vaughn Day commemoration on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

Continuing that legacy was the final call to action shared by Pitroipa<\/a>, a Hearst Fellow and international student from Burkina Fasso who gave the closing remarks. She praised the passionate courage of students like Vaughn and all others who have stepped forward and ensured they were represented on Furman\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time that we empower students to act boldly and with bravery to create change for social justice on campus and globally,\u201d she said. \u201cThe world is waiting on us and looking at us to address them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joseph Vaughn \u201968, Furman\u2019s first Black undergraduate student, empowered his classmates to persevere at Furman. His legacy continues to inspire students today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":36075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,3,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africana-studies","category-alumni","category-diversity-equity-and-inclusion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36078"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36104,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36078\/revisions\/36104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}