Ralph Prater, one of the first Black students to enroll at then-Memphis State University in 1959, has died. He was 81. The university confirmed his death on its website but did not reveal the cause. He died Sunday. The group of students who integrated the university became known as the Memphis State Eight. Also in the group were Eleanor Gandy, Sammie Burnett Johnson, Marvis Kneeland Jones, Bertha Rogers Looney, Rose Blakney Love, Luther McClellan and John Simpson. Looney and McClellan still survive.