4 Notable alumni of Selma University
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
Selma University is ranked #7,222 in the world and #1,849 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 4 notable alumni from Selma University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Selma University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Autherine Lucy
1929-2022 (aged 93)
teacher
militant
Autherine Juanita Lucy was an American activist who was the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, in 1956. She and Pollie Myers were the first black students admitted to the University of Alabama, but they had to fight the university in court to have their admission maintained once the university realized they were black. Lucy was able...
+ show more
2. D. Augustus Straker
1842-1908 (aged 66)
lawyer
David Augustus Straker was an African American teacher, lawyer, and jurist. He won elections to the South Carolina legislature but was denied his seat on multiple occasions.
+ show more
3. William R. Pettiford
1847-1914 (aged 67)
banker
teacher
Christian minister
William Reuben Pettiford was a minister and banker in Birmingham, Alabama. Early in his career he worked as a minister and teacher in various towns in Alabama, moving to the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1883 and serving there for about ten years. In 1890 he founded the Alabama Penny Savings Bank. It played an important role in black economic...
+ show more
4. William Pickens
1881-1954 (aged 73)
essayist
educator
journalist
William Pickens was an American orator, educator, journalist, and essayist. He wrote multiple articles and speeches, and two autobiographies, The Heir of Slaves (1911) and Bursting Bonds (1923). In the latter book he noted race-motivated attacks on African Americans, both in the urban riots of 1919, which took place across the country, and in lynchings in 1921.
+ show more