ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — On January 9, two major events happened in the Peach State.

UGA desegregation

On Jan. 9, 1961, the University of Georgia (UGA) was desegregated.

Charlayne Hunter (now Hunter-Gault) and Hamilton Holmes were the first Black students to enroll at UGA. Hunter was studying to become a journalist, and Holmes wanted to be a doctor.

Both Hunter and Holmes applied and were rejected from the school several times, despite being ranked first and third in their high school class.

In September 1960, legal action was filed alleging that the university was refusing to consider Hunter and Holmes’ applications because of their race. After a full trial, a judge ruled on Jan. 6, 1961, that the students would have already been admitted if it weren’t for their race. They were both admitted immediately and began attending classes on Jan. 9.

Carter funeral

On Jan. 9, 2025, Jimmy Carter was laid to rest in Plains after a full day of funeral proceedings in South Georgia and Washington, D.C.

President Carter’s national funeral service in D.C. began at 10 a.m. and featured remarks from several of Carter’s descendants, as well as former congressmen and then-President Joe Biden.

The ceremony lasted just over two hours, and then the Carter family boarded Special Air Mission 39 to fly to Fort Benning.

The motorcade then arrived at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for a private funeral service that began at about 5:30 p.m.

From there, the former president’s motorcade and his family walked down the streets of downtown Plains to Carter’s final resting place.

The first president from the state of Georgia, and the first to live to see 100 years old, was buried next to his wife Rosalynn at about 8 p.m. on Jan. 9.

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