Integrated Campus?

Memorandum by Chancellor John Harrelson, June 20, 1951

Despite admitting a few students starting in 1951, NC State and North Carolina’s other predominantly white universities continued to turn down qualified black candidates that they were not legally obligated to accept. In 1951, Chancellor Harrelson sent a letter detailing instructions for processing the applications of African American students to all of the college’s deans. He noted that while students applying for programs that were not available at historically black colleges had to be considered regardless of their race, African Americans students would not be accepted if they could attend a program at a segregated college. Out-of-state African American students were also ineligible for admission. This memo clearly demonstrates the reluctance of NC State’s administrators to desegregate their university and the desire to comply only with the letter of the law. African American students could be admitted but, by excluding certain students or programs, administrators could ensure that the pace of integration would be gradual.

Visit other Exhibits in Crossing the Color Line.