Benjamin Lee Smith Papers
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Affidavit for reassignment of African American students to all-white schools
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This six-page affidavit pertains to the reassignment of six African American students to all-white schools Gillespie Elementary School and Greensboro Senior High in 1957, documenting Greensboro's first sucessful attempt at desegregating it's public school system. The affidavit was submitted by Greensboro public school superintendent Benjamin L. Smith to the Greensboro Division of the Guilford County Superior Court.<br><br>In the affidavit, Superintendent Smith argues that because of Brown v. Board of Education, the school board cannot deny the applicants reassignment. He argues that school administrators have been given plenty of preparation for desegregation in the three years following the court decision, and that integrated classes at Carolina Convalescent Hospital and Greensboro Cerebral Palsy School, as well as pupils at local universities, have been successful. For these reasons, Smith argues, the reassignments should be granted. A month later, the students—Josephine Boyd, Brenda Florence, Jimmie Florence, Elijah Herring, Russell Herring, and Harold Davis—were enrolled at their prospective schools, desegregating Greensboro schools for the first time.
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Biographical information on Benjamin L. Smith
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This four-page document provides biographical information about Benjamin L. Smith, including a brief biographical sketch and lists of his organizations, accomplishments, and interests. Smith had served as the superintendent of Greensboro city schools for twenty years at the time this document was written, shortly after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
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Community approach to better human relations
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This is a transcript of a speech on desegregation given by Dr. Gordon W. Lovejoy to the Greensboro Community Council, on December 21, 1954. Lovejoy was a visiting sociology professor at Guilford College and taught classes at Greensboro College at the time of this presentation. In his speech, Lovejoy argues that people receive moral guidance from religion, the legal system, and economics. He goes on to say that their motivations are changing in the face of desegregation, and that the South is in a period of transition. His recommendations for the Greensboro community are: a community self-survey; teaching of human relations in schools; training and support of human relations in PTAs; training of police in human relations; broadening the composition of the ministerial alliance; intensifying of youth programs; desegregation of community facilities; and an increase in the number of facilities where interracial meetings can be held. He says that it is necessary for the council to make a statement in support of improved human relations and to form a human relations committee. The transcript was produced and printed by the Community Council and includes Lovejoy's introduction by Guilford College professor Robert Dinkel, as well as the question and answer session moderated by Community Council president B. Tartt Bell. Topics covered include: possible desegregation rulings in the Supreme Court, desegregation in private schools, and the fear of interracial marriage preventing school desegregation.
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Court transcript regarding application for reassignment of African American students to all-white schools
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This fall 1957 court transcript relates to an appeal to the North Carolina Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's decision allowing six African American children to attend two traditionally all-white schools in Greensboro, North Carolina. African American students Josephine Boyd, Harold David, Elijah Herring, Russell Herring, Brenda Florence, and Jimmie Florence had been assigned to the all-white Greensboro Senior High School and Gillespie Elementary School in the fall of 1957. White parents of children at the two schools appealed the decision, and when the case was denied, they appealed a second time (shown here) and ultimately were again denied, thus allowing desegregation of Greensboro schools to move forward.
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Desegregation, Greensboro Public Schools, Greensboro, NC
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This circa 1958 speech by Greensboro City Schools Superintendent Benjamin L. Smith details school desegregation in Greensboro, North Carolina. Smith writes about the initial changes the Greensboro school board made to their policies following Brown v. Board of Education, including holding joint meetings with African American school administrators and listing schools alphabetically rather than by race. He explains the research and discussions that went into learning about desegregation, and details events in Greensboro that fostered better race relations, including allowing Dudley High School students to use the Greensboro Senior High gymnasium. He goes on to discuss the enrollment of six African American students at two previously all-white schools in 1957, and recalls incidents of protest and violence during the school year. Smith concludes the essay with reasons he feels Greensboro was able to desegregate schools.
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How will the Supreme Court decision affect Greensboro and North Carolina?
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This is a handwritten copy of a speech titled "How Will the Supreme Court Decision Affect Greensboro and North Carolina" by High Point attorney, James Mattocks, given to the Greensboro Community Council on April 20, 1954. In this talk, Mattocks discusses the impending Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. He argues that school integration "is just one more step in the development of a genuine and effective democratic society." He briefly discusses the five cases combined to form Brown, and he lists the questions the Supreme Court has faced regarding the 14th Amendment and segregation. Mattocks argues that separate but equal systems can no longer be maintained, and outlines things that will make the transition in North Carolina easier. He also outlines specific considerations when integrating, problems whites think may arise, and suggestions for implementing integration.
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Letter from B. Tartt Bell to Benjamin L. Smith
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This August 23, 1957 letter from B. Tartt Bell to Benjamin L. Smith expresses support for Smith's work desegregating Greensboro schools. Bell also thanks Smith for the opportunity he and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) have been given to help prepare the community for desegregation. At the time of this letter, Bell was executive secretary of the southeast region of the AFSC and Smith was superintendent of Greensboro's public school system.
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Letter from Benjamin L. Smith to D. Edward Hudgins
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This September 7, 1956 letter from Greensboro school superintendent, Benjamin L. Smith, to D. Edward Hudgins, thanks Hudgins for his letter of support. Smith writes that he shares Hudgins' fears that the Pearsall Plan could be a disaster for North Carolina public education.
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Letter from Benjamin L. Smith to Harry McMullian
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In this two-page letter, dated August 23, 1954, Greensboro Superintendent of Schools Benjamin L. Smith recommends that North Carolina Attorney General Harry McMullian attend hearings regarding the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Smith discusses why the decision was inevitable, why the South will struggle with it, and why compliance is necessary. Copies were also sent to Governor William B. Umstead and Thomas Pearsall.
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Letter from Benjamin L. Smith to Mrs. E. C. Brooks
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This January 13, 1958 letter from Benjamin L. Smith to Mrs. E. C. Brooks thanks Brooks for her letter of encouragement during the desegregation of two all-white schools in Greensboro in 1957. Smith writes of harassment from some white citizens as well as his hopes that people will begin to realize desegregation must be implemented.
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Letter from Benjamin L. Smith to Warren Ashby
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This September 24, 1956 letter from Greensboro school superintendent, Benjamin L. Smith, to Warren Ashby thanks Ashby for his letter of support regarding his position on school desegregation.
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Letter from D. Edward Hudgins to Benjamin L. Smith
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This September 4, 1956 letter from D. Edward Hudgins to Greensboro school superintendent, Benjamin L. Smith, commends Smith for his recent statement about the Pearsall Plan. Hudgins shares his feeling that the plan has the potential to destroy public education in North Carolina, but says he supports the request for more time in desegregating schools.
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Letter from Edward F. Burrows to Benjamin L. Smith
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This 27, 1956 letter from Edward F. Burrows to Greensboro public school superintendent, Benjamin L. Smith, commends Smith for his support of school desegregation. Burrows writes that he has yet to decide how to vote on the Pearsall Plan, but thinks it would allow for desegregation of schools, and thanks Smith for his clarifying statement.
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Letter from Helen Ashby to Benjamin L. Smith
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This September 23, 1957 letter from Helen Ashby, on behalf of the Greensboro YWCA board of directors, to Greensboro public school superintendent Benjamin L. Smith, commends Smith and the Greensboro School Board for their decision to desegregate schools. A copy of the letter was sent to John R. Foster.
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Letter from Warren Ashby to Benjamin L. Smith
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This August 28, 1956 letter from Warren Ashby to Greensboro school superintendent, Benjamin L. Smith, commends Smith for his support of school desegregation, and offers support in any way needed.
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Letter from white supremacist to Benjamin L. Smith
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This one-page letter from an unidentified white supremacist to Superintendent Benjamin L. Smith, dated August 1956 and postmarked in Asheville, attacks Smith for the desegregation of the Greensboro Public School System. The writer repeatedly refers to Smith as a black/Negro, and threatens that he would "break your Negro loving face in" if they ever meet.
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North Carolina reaction to The Supreme Court decision on segregation
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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.
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Pearsall plan to save our schools
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In response to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, North Carolina enacted legislation, known as the Pearsall Plan allowing students to be excused from attending an integrated public school. This eight-page voter recruitment booklet, published in 1956, outlines the items in the Pearsall Plan and includes a question and answer section, as well as an example of how the local option in the plan would work.
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