This May 20, 1973, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with Vance Chavis primarily documents Chavis' efforts to fight segregation in Greensboro schools, especially while teaching at Dudley High School and serving on the Greensboro City Council. Chavis also focuses on Greensboro in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, providing a background for the events that occurred following the Brown decision. Topics include the 1932 presidential election; voter registration efforts and voting rights in Greensboro; the history, role, and activities of the local NAACP chapter, the potential consequences of membership, and the Youth Council. Chavis also discusses in detail the process of token desegregation in Greensboro schools. Topics include discrimination in local school facilities and teacher pay; affluent black families who sent children to white schools; why school desegregation was delayed; Josephine Boyd's experience; the position of white and black community leaders; and specific school board members and administrators. Other subjects include the Greensboro Citizens Association (GCA) and its role in local city council campaigns, including Dr. William Hampton's; the city council and local politics; Chavis' participation in the initiative to get segregated water fountain signs removed; his personal boycott of segregated movie theaters and public transportation; and the Patriots.
