CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Loved ones are celebrating a civil rights activist on her 90th birthday.
Myra Payne Elliott gathered with her friends and family in Jonesboro to commemorate her special day. She enjoyed cake and company at the Red Lobster on Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro Saturday afternoon.
Elliot was one of three women, along with Barbara Pace Hunt and Iris Mae Welch, who sued in federal court to desegregate Georgia State University and won in 1956. Back then, the university was called Georgia State College of Business Administration.
She is the last living plaintiff of the Hunt v. Arnold case against the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia for racial discrimination.
Elliot has previously been honored for her activism by the Clayton County Library System. Friends said they were "deeply humbled" to join the "unsung hero" to celebrate another year of her life alongside her.
"Ms. Elliot is a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and my very very special friend," a friend said at the celebration. "She is a pioneer, trailblazer, and pivotal figure in the black freedom struggle."
