This July 14, 1974, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with Sarah Mendenhall Brown covers Ms. Brown's recollections of school desegregation while she was a member of the Greensboro School Board in the 1950s. Brown describes the school board's preparation for and reaction to the 1954 Brown decision, its reasons for denying transfer requests from black students and delaying implementation of desegregation, the Pearson Street Elementary-Caldwell Elementary court case, white flight in Greensboro, and the more recent school integration and busing. Other topics include Brown's interactions with black people through the YWCA, the end of the ward system in Greensboro, white response to the sit-ins, the YWCA and church involvement in the sit-ins and business desegregation, community business leaders, and leaders in the black community.
