ECU Integrates Without Violence
This article describes the integration process at East Carolina University. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is:Campbell, Kenneth. "ECU Integrates Without Violence," Ebony Herald, Vol. III, No. 7, February 1977.
East Carolina University was one of the few major North Carolina universities to integrate without a court order. It was due, largely, to the careful planning of Dr. Andrew A. Best and ECU Chancellor Leo W. Jenkins.
Best, remembering when no black undergraduates attended ECU, said he and Dr. Jenkins faced the problems integration might present and then planned to prevent them.
"In discussions with Dr. Jenkins, we recognized four potential problems in allowing black students to come to ECU," said Best who was representing the Greenville Human Relations Council during his attempts to get ECU integrated.
"The first problem we felt would be student body acceptance of a black on campus and in classes," Best continued. "Then there was the problem of housing.
"The third problem was finding a black student with the academic ability and the courage to meet the challenge. And finally, we were concerned about faculty reaction. We felt that only housing and finding the right student were major problems."
Both major problems were solved when Best convinced one of his former students, Laura Leary, to apply to ECU.
A native of Pitt County, Miss Leary commuted to school which solves the housing problem. She was a business administration major.
Miss Leary enrolled in the Fall of 1963 and attended ECU a full academic year as the only black undergraduate enrollee. However, she was joined the following year by approximately 10 more blacks. Finishing in four years, Miss Leary proved to be the perfect student for the situation.
Best attributes the nonviolent integration of ECU to planning. He said Miss Leary "knew that it if she got into any situation which smacked of discrimination," she could call on him for support.
The black students who followed Leary began staying in the dormitories without any violent incidents.
One of the black students who enrolled soon after Miss Leary broke the color barrier was Tommy Harris. Harris was a Psychology major from Greenville.
"There was a maximum of 50 blacks enrolled here when I came in 1966," said Harris. We were closely knitted together."
Harris is currently attending ECU to fulfill requirement for entering medical school. He recieved his bachelor's degree from ECU in 1972. He also holds a master's degree in special education from North Carolina Central University.
"The so-called Revolutionary Era affected ECU as it did other campuses," Harris continued. "SOULS (Society of United Liberal Students) started during this period (the late sixties).
"Some students were disenchanted with it because they felt it did not have a purpose. They were tying to make the best of being at ECU."
Harris said black students twice confronted Dr. Jenkins at his house with demands.
In the first confrontation, in 1968, the students asked that the flag be flown half-mast in memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who has [sic] just been assasinated.
Dr. Jenkins told the group he did not have the authrity to allow such an action. He told them he would have to call the governor and get permission. Later in the day, the request was honored.
During the second confrontation, the students presented Dr. Jenkins with a list of demands. One of the demands which was met was that some black faculty members be hired.
There was also a small incident in the late sixties over the playing of "Dixie" at athletic events, according to Best.
A black student, Phyllis Simpson, ran for Homecoming queen in 1970.
Black fraternity life began at ECU in 1971. Dr. Best said he presented the argument to Dr. Jenkins that the university was meeting academic but not social needs of the black students. The social needs could be fulfilled through fraternities, he argued.
The problem in establishing a fraternity was a university rule which says that no student receiving financial assistance could be in a fraternity. Most black students were getting aid.
Best said the problem was solved when Zeta Eta Lambda, a local graduate chapter of Eta Un, Inc., set out to provide monetary assistance for the students wanting to join a fraternity.
Consequently, the ETA Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. was established at ECU in May 1971.
The void left after the academic and social needs of the black students were assured fulfillment not being satisfied through black participation in campus publications, the Student Government Association, the Student Union, the Marching Band and other extracurricular activities.
