Purdue dedicates dorms named for Parker sisters, who fought Purdue to integrate housing in 1947

Told they could enroll at Purdue but not live on campus, Winifred and Frieda Parker, with encouragement of the governor, challenged the university to integrate

Portraits of Frieda and Winifred Parker welcomed visitors to Purdue dorms recently named for them, during dedication ceremonies Sunday on the West Lafayette campus. (Photo: Dave Bangert)

Renee Thomas knew the story of the Parker sisters, who came to Purdue with a wave of post-World War II freshmen in 1946 , when Frieda Parker Jefferson came to campus in …