Willie B. Wyatt, Jr.

Willie B. was one of the Lee vs. Macon Board of Education 12 who integrated White schools in Macon County.  All White students’ parents withdrew them from Notasulga High School, leaving three Black students in his 12th-grade class.  Like Anthony Lee, Willie B. and his family faced threats of violence, saw their school burn down, and had to have secret service protection traveling to and from school and during school.

Willie B. describes how parents and neighbors of the 12 children followed the buses carrying their children each day and patrolled neighborhoods where plaintiffs lived to address threats of violence from White segregationists.

Near the end of his narrative, Willie B. relates a story of driving back to Tuskegee from a family trip to visit relatives in Texas. On past trips, they would stop at a park along the road and eat the fried chicken meals relatives had prepared for them. This time, they sat in the restaurant at-------------As they ate their meal, Willie B. could see the quiet satisfaction from the long struggle upon his father’s face. Congress had passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 barring discrimination in public accommodation.

After getting his diploma from Notasulga High, Willie B. joined his colleague and became the first Black freshmen at Auburn University.  After his first year, Willie B transferred to Tuskegee University after his parents grew increasingly concerned about his safety.

Willie B. earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam and spent his career in the corporate and higher education sector.