help prepare them to succeed in the newly-desegregated schools. Although the tutoring took place at Mercer, the program was not sponsored by the university itself. Hendricks carefully selected the first seventeen students, one of whom was the young student Samaria Mitcham. Samaria was tutored in the summer with the rest of the group and academically flourished the following school year. Nonetheless, when testing came, Samaria performed poorly. Samaria's situation provided a convincing argument that the standardized test scores did not reflect students' academic abilities. Samaria's star performance at each high school demonstrated her intelligence; the tests had instead measured the cultural literacy white students had acquired through years of superior education. Based on Samaria's experiences, Hendricks improved the tutoring program, recruiting students from as far as UCLA to help teach. The following summer (1965), the tutorial program attracted close to 100 students. Desegregating Mercer University Samaria was then admitted to Mercer University, the first such African American woman. At Mercer, Samaria continued to endure racist remarks from her peers on a daily basis. Most students ignored her, avoiding eye contact, and even some professors treated her like a nonentity. In her chemistry class, she was the only female pupil, and the professor had to force another student to be her lab partner. The mistreatment, however, did not stop Samaria from pursuing her education. She notes, "I've never been a quitter." During her time at Mercer, Samaria continued to perform as a pianist. She was offered recording contracts with several music labels, but rejected them to continue pursuing her education. Later life and occupation After graduation, Bailey started Med-Tech Service, a medical technologies company. Med-Tech Service employs forty to fifty people, providing nurses, technicians, and other health- care providers throughout the Macon area. Samaria has described her ideology as follows: "I was never a separatist. I was never a black militant. I just always wanted to get the job done." Indeed, ninety percent of her employees are white. As of 2014, Samaria Bailey resided with her husband in Macon, Georgia. References Further reading Tribute to Girls of Courage Remembering The Civil Rights Movement "Bibb school integration ‘like invading somebody’s home,' trailblazer recalls" from The Telegraph Stem of Jesse: The Costs of Community at a 1960s Southern School on Google Books Combustible/Burn on Google Books 1947 births Living people Mercer University alumni Activists for African-American civil rights