Chancellor Gordon Williams Blackwell Records
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Chancellor Blackwell's speech to WCUNC students regarding the Greensboro sit-ins
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This four-page speech by Chancellor Gordon William Blackwell was delivered on February 9, 1960 and addresses Blackwell's concerns about WCUNC student involvement in the sit-ins that began the previous week. Blackwell states that the sit-ins were a bad idea and that student participation resulted in a negative perception of the university by some members of the community. He also mentions the "threat of violence" and suggests that student participation may have inflamed the issue. Blackwell closes by encouraging students not to participate in any public demonstration over the issue.
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Excerpt from Chancellors' Meeting minutes discussing interracial functions
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This policy statement is an excerpt from the minutes of a February 14, 1952, Chancellors' Meeting, and documents the adoption of a policy that no "mixed social functions" will be held on campus. There is no mention of the specific campus to which this applies, but it is presumably the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (WCUNC, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro).
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Letter from a Board of Trustees member concerning race relations and the Greensboro sit-ins
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This copy of a letter from University of North Carolina Board of Trustees member John W. Clark to fellow member Mark C. Lassiter, dated March 7, 1960, discusses Clark's reaction to several issues of race relations, including the Greensboro and Winston-Salem sit-ins. Clark questions the motivation and backing of individuals working to end segregation and suggests that the people of North Carolina should be advised of who is ""subsidizing"" the movement. Clark also mentions that three students at Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (WCUNC, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) were involved in the sit-ins, all of them from ""out of state."" The ""out of state"" theme is continued throughout the letter.
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Letter from parent of a WCUNC student about her daughter's participation in the Greensboro sit-ins
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This three-page handwritten letter, dated June 3, 1960, is a response to an earlier letter from Gordon Willam Blackwell, chancellor of Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (WCUNC, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro), from Mrs. Frank L.B. Seaman, the mother of a student at WCUNC. In the letter, Seaman discusses her daughter's maturity and religious convictions with respect to race relations, and states that she is certain that her daughter would not behave in a manner that would bring "undesirable repercussions" to the university.
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Letter to Chancellor Blackwell requesting participation at a recruiting session at Dudley High School
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This letter from Mrs. J.J. Goldsborough, Director of Guidance and Counselling at Dudley High School, apparently to Chancellor Gordon William Blackwell of Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (WCUNC, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) is dated December 18, 1959. The writer represents Greensboro's segregated high school for black students, and solicits participation by WCUNC at a college recruiting function to be held on Dudley's campus. An attached memo notes that Greensboro City Schools Superintendent Phillip J. Weaver believes the best course of action would be to "merely say that it will not be possible for us to send a representative." The letter and response are noteworthy in light of the controversy over integrating both public schools and universities in North Carolina. The attached note suggests that the superintendent of the Charlotte public schools was also consulted.
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Memo to the faculty of WCUNC about the Greensboro sit-ins
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This memorandum from Chancellor Gordon William Blackwell dated March 16, 1960, addresses the publicity given to Blackwell's remarks to the student body following the sit-ins. Blackwell states that his comments, which were critical of the sit-ins, must be viewed in light of the fact that the events had occurred so close to an event that had been planned in advance, and notes that he is working on a solution to the problem. Several Woman's College students participated in the sit-ins.
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Memorandum about black enrollment at WCUNC
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This memorandum, dated May 6, 1958, is from Mereb E. Mossman, then Dean of Instruction at Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (WCUNC, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro), to Chancellor Gordon William Blackwell. The memo documents a request from Dr. Harris of Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., about black enrollment figures at WCUNC, and about how black students "were doing" there.
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Public schools, desegregation, and North Carolina's future
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This speech, given by Chancellor Edward Graham Jr., addresses the challenges facing North Carolina's public school system in the wake of the Brown v. the Board of Education decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954, which mandated school desegregation. It was delivered in 1955 to an unknown audience.
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Timeline of events related to the Greensboro sit-ins
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This document, dated February 10, 1960, is a chronological listing of events surrounding the Greensboro sit-ins, which began February 1, 1960, including the response of Woman's College and Chancellor Gordon William Blackwell. The timeline documents negotiations involving WCUNC and North Carolina A&T State University. Several WCUNC students participated in the sit-ins, and the timeline concludes with a mention of Blackwell's address to the student body in which he was critical of student participation. There is a cover letter showing that the timeline was sent by Blackwell to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and to University of North Carolina President William Friday.
