Helen Neal
First Black graduate of West Texas State University
About Helen Neal
Lived 1927 – 2013 (aged 85–86). Helen Neal was an American.
Helen Louise Elliott Neal, along with Marvell White, was the first American black graduate of West Texas State University in 1962. In 2019, the school, now named West Texas A & M University, opened the Nathaniel and Helen Neal Multicultural Suite to commemorate her experience.
She was born Helen Louise Elliot on September 17, 1927, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States. She was married to Nat Neal, who in 1971 became the first black faculty member at West Texas State. Helen first attended all-black Langston College in Oklahoma. The Neals moved to Amarillo in 1955, there were no local colleges that would accept black students. When WT was forced by the federal Government to integrate in 1961, Neal enrolled.
Neal died on October 15, 2013.
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Important facts
People in Helen Neal's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Helen Neal?
first Black graduate of West Texas State University
When was Helen Neal born?
Helen Neal was born on 17 September 1927.
When did Helen Neal die?
Helen Neal died in 2013.
What nationality was Helen Neal?
Helen Neal was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Helen Neal. https://biography.guide/helen-neal/
MLA: "Helen Neal." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/helen-neal/.
Chicago: "Helen Neal." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/helen-neal/.
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