|
Title |
[Memo to the faculty of WCUNC about the Greensboro sit-ins] |
|
Date |
1960-03-16 |
|
Creator |
Blackwell, Gordon Williams |
|
Biographical/historical note |
Gordon Williams Blackwell, son of a Baptist minister, was born on April 27, 1911 in Timmonsville, South Carolina, but grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He graduated from Furman University in 1932 and went on to receive a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1933 and a master's and doctorate from Harvard University. From 1937 to 1941, he was head of the Department of Sociology at Furman University and a member of the Greenville County Council for Community Development. In 1941, he moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a professor of sociology and research associate at the Institute for Research in Social Science. In 1942, he became research professor and director of the institute. Blackwell continued in these positions until he was appointed chancellor of Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in 1957.
During Blackwell's three-year tenure at Woman's College, the state and the national governments had begun to place more demands upon colleges and universities. Increases in college enrollment, the expanded American role in world affairs, and the challenge of Russian science and technology forced a reassessment of the role of higher education and a sustained effort to provide quality education for greater numbers. Even more important for the Woman's College, the increased opportunities for women after World War II and the postwar commitment to improved community services made it especially urgent to expand and improve programs at the college. Blackwell devoted most of his time to finding the means and methods for fulfilling this expanded mission for a Southern woman's college during a period of limited resources, both financial and professional.
In 1960, after three years at Woman’s College, Blackwell became president of Florida State University. He ended his career as president of Furman University from 1965 to 1976. Blackwell was also a voluminous author in the fields of community life and development, sociology of the South, and higher education. Blackwell wrote or collaborated on nearly a dozen books, and edited Studies of Southern Resources and Southern Forces, in addition to his activities in numerous professional and regional organizations. Gordon Blackwell died on January 26, 2004. |
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Subject headings |
Greensboro Sit-ins, Greensboro, N.C., 1960;University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
|
Topics |
Business desegregation and sit-ins, 1960;Race relations at UNCG |
|
Place |
Greensboro (N.C.) |
|
Description |
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. |
|
Type |
text |
|
Original format |
Correspondence |
|
Original dimensions |
8.5" x 11" |
|
Original publisher |
[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified] |
|
Language |
en |
|
Contributing institution |
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries |
|
Source collection |
UA2.6 Gordon Williams Blackwell Records |
|
Finding aid link |
http://libapps.uncg.edu/archon/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=444 |
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Rights statement |
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ |
|
Additional rights information |
NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. This item has been determined to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. The user is responsible for determining actual copyright status for any reuse of the material. |
|
Object ID |
UA002.006.0245 |
|
Digital publisher |
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5305 -- http://library.uncg.edu/ |
|
Sponsor |
LSTA grant administered by the North Carolina State Library -- http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/grants/lsta.html |
|
Full text |
/
^Jgx
Mak 1 '< I960
THE WOMAN'S COLLEGE
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Greensboro
Office of the Chancellor March 16, i960
MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Faculty
FROM: Gordon W. Blackwell
Since some publicity has recently been given to a talk I made to
the students on February 9, I thought you might like to have a copy.
You should know that my appearance before the students on that
date had been scheduled for several months. On the Friday and Saturday
before, the community had come close to a major race riot. Only those
who were in the stores can appreciate the seriousness of the situation,
It was because of this that I felt compelled to speak to the students on
this subject.
I might add that since that time I have been doing everything I
can to help achieve a satisfactory resolution of the problem. Lines of
communication have been established in which rational consideration
hopefully will prevail in an atmosphere of calm. |
|
OCLC number |
884368733 |
