Who was the first African-American to attend the University of Oklahoma?

George W. McLaurin (September 16, 1887 – September 4, 1968) was an American professor, and the first African-American to attend the University of Oklahoma.

He applied and was accepted into the University of Oklahoma in 1948, as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, concerning his application, which enabled African Americans to be admitted to graduate education at the University of Oklahoma on a segregated basis. In the case, McLaurin was supported by Thurgood Marshall, Amos T. Hall, Roscoe Dunjee, and five other African American students. The University was required by law to allow McLaurin into the school, but he was entirely segregated from the other students. Later when other African-American students were admitted into the school, they went through similar conditions such as different classrooms, libraries, cafeterias, and restrooms.

Currently, there is a meeting named after George A. McLaurin on the campus called The George McLaurin Male Leadership Conference. The conference is mainly intended for the recruitment of first-generation college students, and particularly those within minority groups.