University Archives

This article describes the admittance of African American Students into East Carolina University, and also the importance of visiting the University Archives to discover ECU's past. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.

Citation for this article is: Berry, Jonelle. "Archives," Expressions, September 2000. Note: paragraph breaks have been added to assist readers.

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Originally established in 1907 as an institution "for white men and women," East Carolina's charter was amended by the General Assembly in 1957, in conformance with the momentous 1954 Brown Decision by the Supreme Court. After consultation with a number of educators, legal advisors, and individual trustees, in 1961 Leo Jenkins encouraged the board to adopt a policy of admitting any qualified applicant regardless of race. Within a year after being named president in 1960 (of East Carolina), Leo Jenkins, began to formulate a policy to ensure that the integration process would both be peaceful and uneventful.

In the fall of 1963, the first full-time black student enrolled in the regular session. Representing the Greenville Human Relations Council, Dr. Andrew A. Best, a local physician who would become the first black to serve on East Carolina's board of trustees, worked closely with Jenkins in facilitating the enrollment of Laura Marie Leary. A native of Vanceboro, she attended the college a full acedemic year as its only black student. Upon her completion of requirements for a B.S. degree in business administration on 1966, she became the first black graduate. By that time, about fifty other black students were also in residence, and many became involved in campus activities.

Bennie Teel, of Greenville, a 1967 graduate who earned a B.A. in English and French, served as a managing editor of the East Carolinian during his senior year. Also graduating in 1967 were Lillian T. Jones and Nellie Ross, both of Greenville. In the fall of 1966, Paul D. Scott, of Charlottesville, Va. became the first black student to recieve a football scholarship; Vincent Colbert and Marvin Simpson joined the basketball team the same year. In 1967, Dennis Chestnut, a rising junior, was elected to the Student Government Association (SGA) Judiciary Board.

More black students enrolled during the decade of the seventies. Their presence was most dramatically appartent on the athletic teams, where so many starred, the[y] simultaneously became an integral part of the university by particpating in every phase of campus life. At the same time, they formed organizations designed to establish a unique presence and to address particular concerns. The Society of United Liberal Students (SOULS) was established by black students and serves as an agent of the various minority groups on campus. It sponsored the convocation of Black history week and arranged programs to emphasize the dynamic factors of black culture. Under it's auspices in 1975, the campus landmark known as the "Y" hut and more recently the print shop, was converted into the Afro-American Cultural Center. In 1976, it was rechristened the Ledonia S. Wright Afro-American Cultural Center following the death of the popular and respected professor of social work who had served as faculty advisor for SOULS. I could continue to go on discussing the emergence of the black student at East Carolina, and a major and sometimes overshadowed contributions they've given.

But honestly, while researching for this article, I believe it to be absolutely necessary for every African American student to visit Univerity Archives in Joyner Library (4th floor). We should all, including myself, take advantage of the many photos, books, manual scripts, and so much more they have to offer. There is a lot more history to attending ECU, than just the rise of the Greek Life here.