North Carolina Reaction
to
The Supreme Court Decision on Segregation
by
Benjamin Lee Smith
Superintendent of Schools
Greensboro, North Carolina
The reaction in North Carolina to the Supreme Court decision with
reference to segregation has included the extremes of jubilation and resentment,
but for the most part the announcement has been received with calmness, a
recoguition of the Inevitability of the decision, and a disposition to face
a difficult task resolutely and hopefully.
It would be expected that the members of the Negro race would be most
enthusiastic. While some have exulted over the decision, some have felt it
would work to their disadvantage. They say they are not ready for it and do
not want integrated schools. The large majority have taken the announcement
with calmness, self-restraint, and soberness. While grateful for the recognition, they acknowledge the problems and are eager with patience, wisdom, and
helpfulness to cooperate in working them out.
The editerials of newspapers have advised calmness, acceptance of
the inevitable, patience in working out the adjustments, and compliance with
the law. This counsel has undoubtedly had mueh influence upon the reaction
of the citizenship as a whole.
Churches as such have hardly bad time as yet to formulate an expression. However, several ministers and a few ministerial associations have
taken the position that the Court's decision is "basically right and had to
come some time."
The General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church in its
94th session at tontreat, North Carolina, on May 29, voted 236 to 169 tos
1. "Open the doors of its institutions of higher education to all races.
2. Strongly recommend the same action to synods and presbyteries.
North Carolina reaction to The Supreme Court decision on segregation
Date
1954
Date approximate?
yes
Creator
Smith, Benjamin Lee
Biographical/historical note
Benjamin Lee Smith was born February 6, 1893 in, Caldwell County, N.C. He received his A.B. from Duke University in 1916, and his M.A. from Duke in 1937. He served as superintendent of schools in the western North Carolina cities of Forest City, Rutherford-Spindale, and Shelby before assuming the same position in Greensboro, N.C., in 1935. His twenty-three year tenure in Greensboro included the years immediately following the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision ordering desegregation of public schools. In 1959, he participated in the National Civil Rights hearing on school integration. Smith died in 1961. Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro is named for him.
Subject headings
Segregation in education--United States;Race relations
Topics
School desegregation, 1954-1958
Place
Greensboro (N.C.)
Description
This three-page report written by Benjamin L. Smith, around 1954, regards the North Carolina reaction to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Smith writes that there have been mixed reactions within the black community, and that the local newspapers have supported the decision. He reports on the reaction of politicians, acknowledging that some want to "circumvent the decision." He also discusses the Greensboro Board of Education's decision to comply with the law, and writes of the responses they have received from citizens.
Type
text
Original format
reports
Original dimensions
8.5" x 11"
Original publisher
[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]
Language
en
Contributing institution
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University
COPYRIGHT NOT EVALUATED. The copyright status of this item has not been fully evaluated and may vary for different parts of the item. The user is responsible for determining actual copyright status for any reuse of the material.
Object ID
Duke_RL.01210.0960
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/
North Carolina Reaction
to
The Supreme Court Decision on Segregation
by
Benjamin Lee Smith
Superintendent of Schools
Greensboro, North Carolina
The reaction in North Carolina to the Supreme Court decision with
reference to segregation has included the extremes of jubilation and resentment,
but for the most part the announcement has been received with calmness, a
recoguition of the Inevitability of the decision, and a disposition to face
a difficult task resolutely and hopefully.
It would be expected that the members of the Negro race would be most
enthusiastic. While some have exulted over the decision, some have felt it
would work to their disadvantage. They say they are not ready for it and do
not want integrated schools. The large majority have taken the announcement
with calmness, self-restraint, and soberness. While grateful for the recognition, they acknowledge the problems and are eager with patience, wisdom, and
helpfulness to cooperate in working them out.
The editerials of newspapers have advised calmness, acceptance of
the inevitable, patience in working out the adjustments, and compliance with
the law. This counsel has undoubtedly had mueh influence upon the reaction
of the citizenship as a whole.
Churches as such have hardly bad time as yet to formulate an expression. However, several ministers and a few ministerial associations have
taken the position that the Court's decision is "basically right and had to
come some time."
The General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church in its
94th session at tontreat, North Carolina, on May 29, voted 236 to 169 tos
1. "Open the doors of its institutions of higher education to all races.
2. Strongly recommend the same action to synods and presbyteries.
