William Henry Chafe Oral History Collection
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Notes on Joan Bluethenthal papers (set 1)
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These thirteen pages of typescript notes are based on historian William Chafe's examination of the personal files of Joanne Bluethenthal, as well as conversations with her at her home in Greensboro in the late 1970s. The notes mostly concern school desegregation issues in Greensboro around 1969 to 1971. Although somewhat fragmentary and unclear, the notes provide names and dates for various activities, citizen and school board groups such as the Concerned Citizens for Schools (CCS), references to newspaper articles, information about lawsuits, as well as Bluethental's personal reflections. These notes were created by Chafe during the course of his research culminating in the publication of Civilities and Civil Rights in 1980.
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Notes on Joan Bluethenthal papers (set 2)
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These twenty-one pages of typescript notes are based on historian William Chafe's examination of the personal files of Joan Bluethenthal, as well as conversations with her at her home in Greensboro in the late 1970s. The notes mostly concern school desegregation issues in Greensboro around 1969 to 1971. Although somewhat fragmentary and unclear, the notes reference's Bluethenthal's personal correspondence, such as letters from various citizens and friends such as Susie Jones (wife of Bennett College president David B. Jones). Also included are reference to her letters to the editors, talks to local civic organizations, and statements to the school board—all of which mostly pertain to school desegregation. These notes were created by Chafe during the course of his research culminating in the publication of Civilities and Civil Rights in 1980.
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Notes on interview with D. Edward Hudgins by William H. Chafe
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This is a six-page, typed set of notes by William Chafe from a July 6, 1972, interview with D. Edward Hudgins. Shorthand is used throughout, including "GB" for "Greensboro." Chafe notes that Hudgins discussed the Greensboro Board of Education's response to Brown v. Board of Education, including passing a resolution to comply; creating neighborhood schools instead of focusing on racial balance; backlash against the board's resolution. He shared his personal feelings on school desegregation, saying that he thought the decision was inevitable, but that he understood why many Southerners were unable to accept it. He said that he felt there weren't enough people of the power-structure speaking out on desegregation, and discussed the involvement of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, local churches, local media, and people in higher education. At the end of the notes on the interview are Chafe's observations of Hudgins and the interview. These interview notes form part of Duke History professor William Chafe's research culminating in his 1980 book Civilities and Civil Rights.
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Notes on interview with Dr. George and Anna Simkins by William H. Chafe
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This is a four-page, typed set of notes by William Chafe on a July 19, 1972, interview with Dr. George and Anna Simkin. Shorthand is used throughout, including "GB" for "Greensboro." Chafe notes that the Simkins discussed their childhoods and education. Anna shared her support of school desegregation, and George recalled protesting the policy of segregation at Gillespie Park Golf Course. They both discussed Greensboro's failure to comply with Brown v. Board of Education, and Anna talked about forming a committee to aid black families in enrolling their children at all-white schools. They discussed the generational divide in the black community and communication between black and whites in Greensboro. These interview notes form part of Duke history professor William Chafe's research culminating in his 1980 book Civilities and Civil Rights.
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Notes on interview with George Roach by William H. Chafe
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This is a four-page, typed set of notes by William Chafe on a July 6, 1972, interview with George Roach. Shorthand is used throughout, including "GR" for "George Roach" and "GB" for "Greensboro." Chafe notes that Roach discussed Governor Luther Hodges' actions regarding Brown v. Board of Education; local opposition to school desegregation; communication between blacks and whites in Greensboro; the 1960 sit-ins; and meeting with Edward Zane, A&T Dean William Gamble, and business owners. He also shared his support of integration and his high opinion of Greensboro. These interview notes form part of Duke history professor William Chafe's research culminating in his 1980 book Civilities and Civil Rights.
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Notes on interview with Otis Hairston Sr. by William H. Chafe
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This is a four-page, typed set of notes by William Chafe based on an July 17, 1971, oral history interview with Otis Hairston Sr. Shorthand is used throughout, including "OH" for "Otis Hairston," and "GB" for "Greensboro." Chafe notes that Hairston discussed Greensboro's response to Brown v. Board of Education; Dr. William Hampton's election to the Greensboro School Board; the 1960 and 1963 protests and community support for them; a meeting with Mayor David Schenck during the 1963 protests; communication between blacks and whites in Greensboro; the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce; and why students led the civil rights movement. These interview notes form part of Duke history professor William Chafe's research culminating in his 1980 book Civilities and Civil Rights.
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Notes on news articles about desegregation in Greensboro, by William H. Chafe
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This document consists of two pages of typed notes assembled by William Chafe circa 1977 on news articles about Greensboro desegregation. Article topics include Robert Ford's hiring of black machinists; desegregated North Carolina business; Tartt Bell's thoughts on North Carolina business desegregation; statistics on business leader's plans to desegregate; and Ed Lowenstein's hiring black architects and draftsmen. These notes form part of Duke history professor William Chafe's research culminating in his 1980 book Civilities and Civil Rights.
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Oral History interview with A. Knighton "Tony" Stanley by William Chafe
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This transcript of an October 13, 1977, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with A. Knighton "Tony" Stanley primarily documents Stanley's involvement in the civil rights movement in Greensboro, particularly during the 1963 sit-ins. Topics include police captain William Jackson; Jesse Jackson's leadership; Stanley's relationship with Bill Thomas; Stanley's role as a strategist and personal dislike of protest; prayer at protests; the generation gap; the lack of frontline action by established blacks; poor planning of the sit-down in the square; James Farmer; the mass arrests and overcrowding in Greensboro prisons; and Dr. Willa Player's actions following the arrest of Bennett students. Stanley also discusses his opinions of Armistead Sapp, McNeill Smith, Dr. Lewis Dowdy, Dr. Samuel Proctor, George Simkins and Otis Hairston, local newspaper reporters, the power structure in Greensboro, the Greensboro Community Fellowship, and Edward Zane. Other topics include Stanley's experiences as a youth in Greensboro, including segregation in neighborhoods; Dudley High School's feeling of community; influential teachers Vance Chavis and Nell Coley; his membership in the NAACP youth group; and his thoughts on class consciousness and white privilege.
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Oral History interview with Al Lineberry by William Chafe
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This December 17, 1974, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with Al Lineberry primarily documents Lineberry's activities on the Greensboro school board and Chamber of Commerce during the controversy over school integration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lineberry shares his first impressions of Greensboro and its school board, recalls serving on the Buncombe School Board in 1954, and discusses Ben Smith's reaction to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. He provides his opinion on the progress of desegregation from the late 1950s through the 1960s, and focuses on court-ordered integration, particularly the aftermath of the 1971 Charlotte/Mecklenburg decision. Topics include busing, the involvement of HEW, formation of the Concerned Citizens for Education, the role of the chamber of commerce; a speech he made on school integration; and a meeting with parents from Page High School. Lineberry also discusses black membership in the chamber of commerce; cell discussion groups on race; and important chamber members. Throughout the interview Lineberry shares his religious motivations, his personal convictions on race relations and equality, his reasons for being involved in civic activities, and his experiences of helping people change their mindsets.
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Oral History interview with Benjamin Smith Jr. by William Chafe
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This transcript of a June 6, 1973, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with Ben Smith Jr. primarily documents Smith's recollection of his father's work as superintendent of schools in Greensboro following the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Topics include Smith Sr.'s reasons for selecting the position in Greensboro; what made Greensboro unique; his reputation and personality; community and school board reaction to the Brown decision; threats and retaliation against the Smiths; the three-year delay in school desegregation; Smith Sr.'s objection to the Pearsall Plan; and selection of Phil Weaver as his successor.
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Oral History interview with Carol Stoneburner by William Chafe
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This transcript of a December 12, 1974, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with Carol Stoneburner primarily documents Ms. Stoneburner's involvement in the YWCA in Greensboro, North Carolina. Topics include Stoneburner's initial involvement in the Lee Street YWCA; desegregation at the Y; the effectiveness of Y programs; the differences between the Lee Street and Davie Street Ys; disconnect between black and white Y members; changes in Y administration and structure; Y board members and staff; the Young Women Committed to Action group; community dialogue groups; the possible consolidation of the YWCA and YMCA in Greensboro; the Y as a safety valve in social issues; reasons the Y should address women's issues; and the state of the YWCA in the seventies. Stoneburner also discusses her early opinions of the South and initial impressions of Greensboro.
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Oral History interview with Carolyn Allen by William Chafe
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In this oral history interview, circa 1975, conducted by William Chafe, Carolyn Allen primarily discusses Greensboro civic organizations, and particularly the YWCA, addressing racial issues. Topics include the involvement of the academic community in civic organizations during the late 1960s and earl 1970s, Allen's impressions of race relations, the Gateway Program, Hal Sieber, Cecil Rouson, Nelson Johnson, Owen Lewis, the rise of black separatism in Greensboro in the early 1970s, and the division along lines of economic status and age in the black community. Allen addresses the role of the YWCA in the community, representation of faculty and the black community on YWCA board, the YWCA's Community Unity and Human Relations Committees, integration of Greensboro YWCAs, activities of specific members, and dialogue groups that discussed community issues. Specific events mentioned include the Dudley High School/A&T protest, school integration, and the sanitation workers' strike.
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Oral History interview with Carolyn Mark by William Chafe
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This transcript of an October 10, 1974, interview conducted by William Chafe with Carolyn Mark primarily documents Ms. Mark's recollections as a student at North Carolina A&T State University and as an employee of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. Of her time at A&T, Mark discusses the separation between the university and the city; the presence of Winston-Salem Black Panthers on campus; students sitting-in at the administration building to protest school policies; fighting for women's rights on campus; the march after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death; the 1969 Dudley High/A&T protest, including the speed at which it moved, the National Guard using smoke bombs to evacuate dorms, and factors the fueled the protest; students' opinion of Dr. Lewis Dowdy, Cleo McCoy, John Marshall Kilimanjaro, and Nelson Johnson; and the conservative nature of the A&T faculty. Mark also describes how she became involved with the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce; the power structure in Greensboro; effort to camouflage the fact that business elite run the city; business leaders' reaction to school desegregation; human relations and cell meetings at the Hayes-Taylor YMCA; the Community Unity Committee; Hal Sieber's support in the chamber and in the community; and the improvement of race relations in the city.
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Oral History interview with Cecil Bishop by William Chafe
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This oral history interview circa 1977 conducted by William Chafe with Cecil Bishop primarily documents Bishop's recollections of the 1963 protests in Greensboro, including his ministerial colleagues and allies in Greensboro; the silent march downtown; the alliance of and differences between student and adult protesters; roles and members of the coordinating committee; and the city's opinion that the protests were fueled by outsiders and students. Bishop describes the role of many individuals including McNeill Smith, John Tarpley, David Morehead, Ed Zane, the Blairs, Jesse Jackson, Bill Thomas, and Tony Stanle. Bishop also briefly discusses his education and career before coming to Greensboro, the city's reputation at that time, and protesting a segregated restaurant in Rockville, Maryland.
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Oral History interview with Cecil Bishop by William Chafe
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In this October 13, 1977, interview conducted by William Chafe with Cecil Bishop, Bishop discusses his membership in the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the makeup of the chamber, its role in stabilizing Mike Fleming's involvement, and Hal Sieber's ability to manipulate people. He also describes his involvement with the Community Unity Council and the Human Relations Commission, and the way those organizations interacted with other groups including the Greensboro Association of Poor People (GAPP) and radical student groups. Other topics include the Dudley High School/A&T protest and Mayor Carson Bain's response, busing and integration, blacks' wariness of philanthropic whites, the generation gap in the late 1960s Greensboro protest movement, housing issues and strikes. Other individuals and institutions discussed include Malcolm X Liberation University, John Marshall Kilimanjaro and the Carolina Peacemaker, Cecil Rouson, Nelson Johnson, McNeill Smith, Ralph Johns, Henry Frye, and Dr. George Evans.
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Oral History interview with Cleo McCoy by William Chafe
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This transcript of a September 6, 1977, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with Cleo McCoy primarily documents McCoy's experiences at North Carolina A&T State University during the 1950s and 1960s. He discusses veterans attending A&T in the 1950s; Governor Luther Hodges' visit to campus and Dr. Ferdinand Bluford's reaction; the Greensboro Four; post-sit-ins campus activities; William Gamble and Warmouth Gibbs' responses; A&T presidents being referred to as Uncle Toms; Jesse Jackson, Nelson Johnson, and Vincent McCullough; and the 1969 A&T/Dudley High School protest. Other topics include Randolph Blackwell running for office; civil rights discussions at Guilford College in the fifties; "outsiders" in the 1963 and 1969 protests; and James Farmer discouraging the role of clergy in the movement.
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Oral History interview with David Morehead by William Chafe
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This transcript of a December 19, 1975, interview conducted by William Chafe with David Morehead primarily documents Morehead's role at the Hayes-Taylor YMCA in Greensboro, North Carolina, and his involvement in the civil rights movement. Topics include selling memberships for the YMCA; becoming executive director; the separation between the Hayes-Taylor YMCA and the all-white Central YMCA; integration of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA; the YMCA's interaction with the Susie B. Dudley YWCA, and Caesar Cone's effort to combine the two organizations. He also shares his opinion of Caesar Cone and his role in Greensboro and the city's race relations. Morehead also recalls his involvement in school desegregation efforts, including offering the YMCA as a meeting place; providing a safe haven for the sit-in participants; the roles of Jesse Jackson, William Thomas, and Edward Zane; the formation of the Human Relations Commission; being forced by A&T president Ferdinand Bluford to move an event at which blacks and whites would have eaten together in the dining hall; the closing of community pools because of desegregation; Spencer Love purchasing the Windsor pool and his family's involvement in Greensboro race relations; the generation gap in the black community; the role of churches in the desegregation movement; integration of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce; Hal Sieber and Mike Fleming; and the Greensboro Citizens Association. Other topics include integrated neighborhoods in Greensboro in the 1940s; an incident in which white teenagers bullied Morehead and his mother's confrontation of an adult bystander; his desire to be a part of racial change in Greensboro; segregated businesses in Greensboro; his brother's career at Burlington Industries and Morehead's attempt to gain employment there; his reasons for not running for office; and hosting evangelist Tom Skinner in Greensboro.
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Oral History interview with David Richmond by Clay Carson
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This transcript of an April 10, 1972, oral history interview conducted by Clay Carson with David Richmond primarily documents Richmond's participation in the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth's sit-in on February 1, 1960. Topics include the influences on the Greensboro Four, Joe McNeil suggesting they sit-in, meeting with Ralph Johns, others who knew about their plan, Dr. Milton Barnes putting up bail, communicating with and organizing students, the march from Woolworth's to A&T, and the boycott of downtown businesses. Other topics include Greensboro's role and relation to the national civil rights movement, the shift in protest tactics, his work as a counselor, and his involvement in the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce's sensitivity sessions.
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Oral History interview with David Richmond by William Chafe
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This transcript of a oral history interview conducted by William Chafe circa 1975 with David Richmond primarily documents Richmond's participation in the sit-in movement in Greensboro, North Carolina, during the 1960s. Richmond recalls early influences, including black WWII veterans' complaints, that generation's failure to act, becoming aware of racial inequalities, the impact of being bused out of his neighborhood, and influential teachers. He describes meeting Jibreel Khazan, Frank McCain, and Joseph McNeil and the sit-in movement they started. Topics include Ralph Johns' role, informing Jo Spivey and George Simkins before they went to Woolworth's, researching North Carolina laws, organizing the growing numbers at Woolworth's, participants from the other local colleges, Warmouth Gibbs' response, working with Edward Zane, and community members aiding in students' transportation. Richmond also discuses the resurgence of the sit-in movement in 1963, the role of the Chamber of Commerce, his relationship with Hal Sieber, sensitivity sessions, Lewis Brandon and Nelson Johnson, Willie Grimes' murder, and riots after Martin Luther King's assassination. Other topics include being remembered for the sit-ins, community unity during the sit-ins, the deterioration of the gains made by the civil rights movement, class divisions in the black community, and the difficulties in his personal life caused by his involvement in the movement.
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Oral History interview with Dr. John Tarpley by William Chafe
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This transcript of an oral history interview conducted by William Chafe circa 1975 with Dr. John Tarpley primarily documents Dr. Tarpley's memories as the principal of Dudley High School and aiding in the creation of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tarpley describes his youth and education in Dallas, Texas, including incidents of racial discrimination, falsifying his age to enlist in the army, inequality in the military, and his job at a chemical plant. Most of the interview focuses on Tarpley's experiences as an educator in North Carolina, especially instances of racial discrimination. Topics include his initial impressions of North Carolina, his job at Bennett College's prep school, fighting for salary raises for the black prep school teachers, the use of racial terms such as colored and Negro, black public education in Greensboro, the required school curriculum for black and white students, his effort to secure equality in white and black teacher salaries, and the struggles black teachers went through to attend graduate school and obtain principal certification. Other topics include R.C. Sharp's election campaigns for the Greensboro City Council, the reputations of the KKK and the NAACP, and employment opportunities for blacks. Tarpley also describes at length the creation of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA, including Caesar Cone's support in procuring funding.
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