For first African-American cheerleader, Auburn 'determined my trajectory'

For first African-American cheerleader, Auburn 'determined my trajectory'For first African-American cheerleader, Auburn 'determined my trajectory'

Linwood Moore

AUBURN, Ala. – Linwood Moore would not be denied.

Three times, he tried out to be an Auburn cheerleader.

On his second attempt, he was selected as the first alternate, often a path to making the squad the following year. But on his third try, Moore again made first alternate.

Three strikes and you're out? That's not how trails get blazed.

A week after one of the male cheerleaders quit, two co-captains visited Moore at his dorm, offering the role of mic man, a position usually reserved for the captain

Their motivation, perhaps, was a sign of the times. This was 1974-75. Like Moore, many of Auburn's students then came from high schools that had recently been desegregated.

"They said, 'We've been together for a week already, and we've already paired up, and we don't think alumni would like the idea of having a black guy with a white girl as a partner,'"

Moore recalled 44 years later. "They actually told me that.

"So they said, the only position left is mic man. They said, 'You don't want that, do you?'" Moore said, laughing at the memory.

"Seizing the moment as a historical moment, I said yes. Even though I'd really prefer not to be the mic man. I'd prefer to have a partner, I tried out with a partner. Since they had already paired up, there was no partner for me."

That's how Linwood Moore became Auburn's first African-American cheerleader.

"I'm from Alabama. I know the history of this state," he said. "I know the thought processes of many people in this state, at least as it was back then. And so, I was not disillusioned at all about any of that. I figured this was something I was qualified to do. I had proven it during the tryouts. I figured that, if this is the only way that the barrier could be broken, then I needed to move forward and step out."

Another obstacle soon appeared. Cheerleading practices were scheduled during Moore's chemistry lab. If he missed too many practices, he'd be kicked off the team.

"It seemed like, to me, that was a setup," said Moore, then a student in Auburn's Harrison School of Pharmacy. "They scheduled practices right in the middle of my lab."

In his lab instructor, Moore found an ally. The graduate assistant permitted Moore to attend the first two hours of the lab, leave for cheerleading practice, then return.

"My instructor kind of bailed me out of that," Moore said.

Having cleared the scheduling hurdle, Moore gradually felt acceptance.

"The girls were always nice. The guys weren't nasty or anything. They just wouldn't welcome me to their fraternity, so to speak. After it was finally determined that, 'You are a member of this squad, let's move forward.' After that, it was pretty much smooth sailing."

Moore also broke new ground by becoming the first African-American Plainsman, a prestigious student ambassador organization.

Drawing on his experience as a high school senior in 1970-71, during the integration of Central High in Phenix City, Alabama, Moore embraced new opportunities at Auburn.

"Throughout the South, not just in Alabama, massive desegregation was happening everywhere," said Moore, who served as vice president of his high school senior class.

"That went well in Phenix City. We planned well. We interacted well. All students were involved in all the campus activities.

"Back in those days, if you were an African-American student, you did not come to Auburn for a social environment. You came for an education.

"Since I thought it was something I could do, and since my history in high school had been about reconciliation and integration, I thought this was something that perhaps I might have an opportunity to break a barrier here as well."

Attending Auburn on an Army ROTC scholarship, Moore graduated from Auburn's pharmacy school in 1977.

"It determined my trajectory in my career," he said. "It's critical at every step of the way of everything I've ever done in my professional career. Whenever someone saw that I had an Auburn degree, it was instant respect.

"We got an excellent foundation here. We were challenged here. As it relates to the pharmacy school, I passed my boards on the first try. That speaks to the solid educational background I got here at Auburn."

Moore spent the next 10 years on active duty before serving in the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of colonel after serving as a troop commander for an army hospital with 700 soldiers.

Col. Moore's pharmacy expertise aided his transition to the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he served as acting chief of pharmacy before his retirement last July.

"Being a veteran, seeing the need to advocate for veterans and to try to take care of veterans to see that they get the best healthcare they can get," he said. "That's been a passion of mine as well."

A resident of the Washington D. C. metro area, Moore frequently returns to Phenix City, 45 minutes southeast of Auburn. Retirement, he says, just means more football Saturdays on the Plains.

"I come here all the time, whenever I'm home visiting family. I've seen the campus grow over the years.
 
"I'm pleased at the number of African-American students on campus now. It's really grown tremendously, and the level of involvement has increased. I'm pleased to see they have African-American male cheerleaders who are partnered with white girls, that's an advancement from my time."

Col. Linwood Moore. A determined pioneer who played a key role in Auburn's story, just as it did in his.

"I just love Auburn," he said. "Auburn set me on my path in terms of career. I have no bitter memories or experience about Auburn itself. It set my course."
 
What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy means to me:
"Growing up during the civil rights era, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement were personal to me. His life and legacy of courage taught me that progress cannot be achieved without a struggle and that everyone deserves human dignity and respect. His life also taught me how to persevere and to stand for what's right even when challenged with adversity. Martin Luther King's legacy is also one of the reasons why I chose to attend Auburn University." 
 

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
 
 

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