Mary Frances Early was a historic trailblazer in the struggle to desegregate UGA. Seeing her former classmates Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes face riots as the first African-Americans to enroll at the university, she decided she had to help. She transferred to UGA and became the first African-American student to graduate from the University of Georgia, earning her Master’s degree in Music Education in 1962.
For over 50 years, she has worked as a tireless advocate for music education in Georgia and around the country. She began teaching music at the still-segregated Atlanta public Schools, eventually becoming music director of the entire school system. In 1981, she became the first African-American elected president of the Georgia Music Educators Association. She also helped write the Macmillian/McGraw-Hill music textbook series, cementing her influence in the classroom nationwide.
She believes that all students deserve access to study music and that music is a necessary component of a well-rounded education. While the UGA College of Education now bears her name, it is the lives she touched, both in and out of the classroom, that is her greatest legacy.