Conclusion
A black student and a white student work together in a lab, circa 1970s.
David Hinton, a student leader, takes a phone call, 1970.
The 1960s and 1970s were a bumpy road for most black students, faculty, and staff who sought to expand black access to traditionally white spaces. Rampant discrimination, pressure and censure over racial riots and protests, and institutionalized disinterest all meant that black members of the NC State community, alongside blacks across the country, were fighting an uphill battle.
However, it wasn’t all bad; during the 1970s, black students at NC State began getting more and more involved in the decisions that would affect their futures. The faculty and staff who served on the Good Neighbor Council, which had been working since the 1960s to achieve racial equality on NC State’s campus and in the surrounding areas, began recruiting black students to work with them.[1] More and more black students participated with students from Shaw University and other schools to peacefully protest for rights to education, housing, and space in the community. Many black students became more involved in student leadership, as people like Eric Moore broke glass ceilings within the university.[2]
Despite these gains, black access to space within the student body wasn’t easily won or uncontested. People like Mary Evelyn Porterfield or Linda Brieaddy can attest to that. Black students had to fight hard for access to equal rights and opportunities in social, political, cultural, academic, media, and leadership spaces. However, once black students won access to these spaces, they would utilize them to further the civil rights agenda and support black causes. Space was integral to equality.
[1] Unknown, "Report of the Good Neighbor Council 1974-1975," Folder 1, Box 1, UA 022.053 University Committee Records, North Carolina State University Special Collections, Raleigh, NC.
[2] “Student Leaders: Lessons is Racial Politics at NC State,” Red and White For Life, accessed Nov 4, 2014. http://www.alumniblog.ncsu.edu/2013/09/11/student-leaders-lessons-in-racial-politics-at-nc-state/.