Tommie Morton-Young, the first black Peabody graduate, remembers her past with a sense of humor.

“I was put off the bus in Athens, Ga., during the same week that Rosa Parks was (kicked off a bus in Montgomery, Ala.),” she recalled at a lecture on Monday. “She rode into history, and I hitchhiked back to Nashville.”

Morton-Young spoke as part of the Black Cultural Center’s Living History Series. Her talk, titled “Sacredness of Sameness, Divinity of Difference,” addressed her conclusions regarding the black mind. Morton-Young spoke of the equality of men, the intellectual capacity of mankind, and mankind’s ability to adapt and survive as sacred qualities that all humans share.

She also noted the importance of celebrating differences among cultures and outlined four “guiding lights” of the black experience. These ideas form the foundation of her new book, “Ride a Dark Horse in the Dark Night.”

During the question-and-answer session, Morton-Young described her stay at Peabody College as a “pleasant experience.” She graduated with a master’s degree in 1955.

“I didn’t experience many problems while here,” she said, “but I knew I was the token black.”

Junior Whitney Hubbard was moved by Morton-Young’s recollection of being told that she could not eat in the Peabody cafeteria.

“I think it’s interesting that her classmates supported her,” Hubbard said. “They boycotted the cafeteria in response to what happened. It’s surprising because today, I don’t think that happens.”

Hubbard recalled the 2005 student protest against paraphernalia shop You Greek, Me Greek for racial slurs directed at several black Tennessee State University students.

“We (Vanderbilt National Pan-Hellenic Council students) boycotted the shop and asked the rest of Vanderbilt’s Greeks to do the same,” Hubbard said. “But the white students didn’t seem to care and continued to go there. It is so different from what (Morton-Young) experienced. Her classmates stood up for her.”

Morton-Young and Hubbard are both members of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., which co-sponsored the lecture.