Fifty years ago, the late trailblazer became Texas Tech's first African-American graduate.

May 10, 2014

In the spring of 1964, Ophelia Powell-Malone received her degree from Texas Tech University. None of her fellow graduates looked like her, but on that day Ophelia blazed a trail. Ophelia was the first African-American to receive a bachelor's degree from Texas Tech. She received a degree in home economics with a concentration in home nursing and health care.