School Integration
On May 17th, 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Edu, ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This decision went against the saying separate-but-equal which was created after the trial of Plessy v. Ferguson. This rejection declined African American children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed in the 14th Amendment. The first change in educational segregation was in 1951, when UNC at Chapel Hill was ordered to admit blacks to itś law, medical, and graduate schools. The first African Americans that integrated into UNC were Floyd B. McKissick, Harvey Beech, J. Kenneth Lee, and James Lassiter. These students had to overcome hundreds of hate comments everyday at school. Even after UNC integrated millions of school remained segregated but in the same year the NAACP filed a lawsuit for school equalization or integration. North Carolina developed a series of legal and administrative barriers that blocked school integration in the interest of "local choice.” These decisions were made by Lieutenant Governor Luther H. Hodges. The Pearsall Plan of 1956 comprised six laws, one resolution, and a constitutional amendment. The amendment further-prevented integration. It made it voluntary by establishing private tuition grants from the state. Many white parents did not wish their children to attend an integrated school. Many whites have said that the plan "softened the blow" of integration in North Carolina. However, the plan was opposed by blacks. Many white people continued hostile remarks against black people. North Carolina admitted only 11 black students to previously all-white schools in 1957. The school boards in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem were some of the first to integrate. But even with the advancement in public school integration, only a few other counties had chosen to integrate.
Frederick Douglas Alexander was named for Frederick Douglass. Born in Charlotte in 1910, he was called the the Great Emancipator of the nineteenth century. He wanted to improve lifestyle in the African American communities. His biggest challenge was in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County when trying to integrate the schools. On September 4, 1957, the local public schools became racially integrated for the first time in their history. Dorothy Counts enrolled that day at Harding High School; Gus Roberts entered Central High School; his sister, Girvaud Roberts, became a seventh grader at Piedmont Junior High School; and Delores Maxine Huntley matriculated at Alexander Graham Junior High School. These students had to go through many tough obstacles when enter school. The memory of when they first went to a public white school would follow them for the rest of their lives.
Frederick Douglas Alexander was named for Frederick Douglass. Born in Charlotte in 1910, he was called the the Great Emancipator of the nineteenth century. He wanted to improve lifestyle in the African American communities. His biggest challenge was in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County when trying to integrate the schools. On September 4, 1957, the local public schools became racially integrated for the first time in their history. Dorothy Counts enrolled that day at Harding High School; Gus Roberts entered Central High School; his sister, Girvaud Roberts, became a seventh grader at Piedmont Junior High School; and Delores Maxine Huntley matriculated at Alexander Graham Junior High School. These students had to go through many tough obstacles when enter school. The memory of when they first went to a public white school would follow them for the rest of their lives.