Opening Doors, 40th Anniversary, for all generations to come

'OUR FUTURE'

by Dr. Charles Ray Nash

I looked through a window so dimly lit,
And I saw a dawning of a new day.
For so many had given of their courage,
To the cause and struggle along the way.

Their talents, their tolerance, their faith,
Sustained them through torment and strain.
Without a whimper, without a cry,
They moved onward and upward through wind and rain.

Through that window so dimly lit,
I imagined the price they must have paid.
I envisioned the sacrifices they must have made,
So that all of us and those in the future to come,
Might succeed upon the foundation they laid.

The new day dawning full of confidence and hope,
Is still afar off, but not so far,
That those of courage along the way,
Could not always see the dawning of a new day.

They came, they cared, they paid the down payment on our future.
They laughed, they cried, they painted a picture.
They told the stories of conflicts and triumphs.
These great Pioneers and many others with them,
Helped us all to see what a wonderful, what a prosperous,
What a peaceful, what an honorable future our future could be
If we worked together, side by side, untiringly.

Dr. Charles Ray Nash is vice chancellor for academic affairs, The University of Alabama System. His poem marks the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of "Opening the Doors" of The University of Alabama and is dedicated to our honored Pioneers.

Historic photograph from events of June 1963