Hunting 4 Answers: Quieting the Queen: Lynn Eusan

The Black Effect Presents... Hunting 4 Answers!

In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In 1971, civil rights activist Lynn Eusan made history as the first Black homecoming queen at a predominantly white Southern university. Just three years later, she was found stabbed to death in the backseat of a stranger’s car. The man responsible was arrested—then acquitted. Over 50 years later, her murder remains unsolved. Was Lynn targeted for the crown she wore… or the revolution she led? 

This is the story of Lynn Eusan. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and Today's case
takes us way back to September tenth, nineteen seventy one,
and centers around a twenty two year old civil rights

(00:21):
activist and trailblazer. According to some accounts, she accepted a
ride from a stranger, while other sources suggest she was
abducted while waiting for a bus on her way to work.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
She also happened to be the first black.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Homecoming queen at a predominantly white university in the South,
and her death remains unsolved after more than fifty years.
This is the story of Lynn u Zan. Lynn Cecilia
Uzan was born on October eleventh, nineteen forty, in Galveston County, Texas,

(01:03):
to Ida A. Boudreau Uzanne and Wilbur Thurkield Uzanne, Senior.
By nineteen sixty eight, Lynn had become one of the
first black students admitted into the University of Houston or
U eight. With a bright smile and fierce determination, Lynn

(01:24):
wasn't just another student, She was a revolutionary. While studying journalism.
She co founded the African American Studies program at UH
and helped establish the Shape Community Center in nineteen sixty nine.
She was also a charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha

(01:44):
sorority and even played.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
In the university's marching band.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
But Lynn's activism went well beyond campus activities. She had
even been arrested a few times for demonstrating all of
this during the civil rights era. November nineteen sixty eight,
the University of Houston Astrodome, in a moment that shocked

(02:12):
the nation, Lynn Yuzan was crowned the first African American
Homecoming queen at a predominantly white university in the South.
She beat five white candidates in a victory that sent
shockwaves through the segregated South. The shock that she was
actually named it was fantastic, recalled her friend Jean Law,

(02:34):
who was there that night. The Daily Cougar newspaper called
her election a symbol representing uh's defiance of the wall
of prejudice, but not everyone was celebrating. Lynn's crown wasn't
just a tiara. It was a statement, a declaration that

(02:58):
change was coming to the AMA in South. She used
her platform to fight for social justice, leading rap sessions
and presenting demands to the university president that included things
like an African American studies program, more black administrators and instructors,

(03:19):
increased financial aid, and better wages for maintenance workers. There
were other blacks who felt as I did, and who
were facing the same problems I was. By organizing into
a group, we were able to make our problems known.
Lynn once told The Houston Chronicle her activism made her

(03:42):
beloved by some and despised by others. September tenth, nineteen
seventy one, Houston, Texas, it was a rainy day in Lynn,
now twenty two years old and a recent graduate of
Uhe was walking to her job when the rain started.

(04:04):
According to some accounts, a stranger offered her a ride.
In that split second decision to get out of the rain,
Lind's fate was sealed.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
However, other reports say she was abducted.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Nonetheless, whatever happened would leave a family devastated, a community outraged,
and questions that remain unanswered till this day. On that morning,
a Houston police car was struck by a nineteen seventy
one Chevrolet saidan driven by a twenty six year old

(04:38):
black man named Leo Jackson Junior. When officers approached the vehicle,
they found Lynn Uzanne in the back seat, stabbed six
times in fighting for her life. She was rushed to
the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Jackson claimed that

(05:00):
the hysterical Linn had attacked him and stabbed herself, and
that he was rushing her to the hospital when he
crashed into the police car. However, the evidence told a
different story. The medical examiner's report was damning. Lynn had

(05:22):
been stabbed multiple times in the back, wounds that could
not have possibly been self inflicted. In Leo Jackson Junior
wasn't just a good samaritan trying to help. He had
a lengthy criminal record, with fourteen prior arrests for sexual
and other forms of assault and armed robbery. The evidence

(05:47):
became overwhelming. The case seemed open and shut, But in
nineteen seventy two, after a trial that shocked the community,
a jury acquitted ly A Jackson Junior of murder. How
does a man with all of those arrests get acquitted

(06:07):
of murdering a civil rights leader when the evidence clearly
showed she was stabbed in the back. Lynn's friends and
family were devastated. Her close friend Jeanne had said, it
was a shock. It still is a shock when the
word came back. We were just in total disbelief, tragic,

(06:30):
very sad. Many in the community believe that racism played
a role in the verdict. Here was a young black
woman who had dared to break barriers, to challenge the
status quo, and to wear a crown that some felt
she didn't deserve. After the acquittal, no one else was

(06:53):
ever charged in connection with Lynn Muzanne's death. The case
remains officially unsolved, a cold case that has haunted Houston
for more than five decades. Lynn's death certificate simply states
she was stabbed in the back. Her niece, Andrea Uzanne,

(07:14):
says the family has never gotten closure. Her death left
an indelible mark, Andrea said, but then so did her life.
In nineteen seventy six, five years after her death, the

(07:34):
University of Houston dedicated Lynn Uzanne Park, a four point
six acre park in the center of campus where diverse
groups gather, just as Lynn would have wanted. In twenty eighteen,
nearly fifty years after she helped create it, the university
finally approved a bachelor's degree in African American studies, the

(07:58):
program that l fought to establish. Lynn Uzanne was so
much more than just a homecoming queen. She was a journalist, activist, advocate, organizer,
and a trailblazer who helped change the face of higher
education in the South. She wanted to bring social justice

(08:20):
not just to the UH campus, but to the surrounding
communities and beyond. Today, more than fifty years later, Lynn
Yuzan's murder remains unsolved. The Houston Police Department lists her
case as legally open, though no active investigation is currently
under way. However, in twenty thirteen, Leo Jackson, the man

(08:45):
who was acquitit of her murder, had passed away, taking
away any secrets he might have had along with him.
Lynn's case leaves a list of haunting questions. Was she
targeted because of her activism her crown, did her pioneering
spirit make her enemies?

Speaker 2 (09:07):
And will her family ever truly get the justice they deserve.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
One thing is for sure, lynn Uzanne wrote down walls
and open doors that can never be closed again. Her
death remains unsolved, but her impact is undeniable. My thoughts
and prayers are with the family of lynn Uzanne anyone
with information about her case to contact the Houston Police Department.

(09:36):
Their contact information can be found in the description box below.
As we close out this episode, don't forget to collect
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Answers on YouTube and follow us on Instagram and TikTok
for more true crime updates. Thank you so much for

(09:59):
joining us.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
On another episode. Until next time.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
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