Oral history interview with J.W. Mask, February 15, 1991
Subtitle: interview M-0013, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Wells, Goldie F. (Goldie Frinks), interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2007
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; African American school principals; African American schools; High schools; Administration; African Americans; Segregation
Other titles: Interview M-0013, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with J.W. Mask, February 15, 1991; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: J.W. Mask was principal of Monroe Avenue High School before desegregation. In this interview, he answers questions from the interviewer's checklist about the challenges of his position, his management style, and the details of his job. Mask does not talk explicitly about race and education a great deal, but his experiences as an educator in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s were marked by segregation. Among the most difficult challenges he faced was a lack of resources, and he was forced to find ways to fund basic services without help from the county. With help from the PTA and parents, he managed to create a cafeteria in the school's basement; supply the school with books and desks; and form a band and a basketball team. Desegregation brought more resources to the school, but also a new set of challenges, including heightened tensions with a segregationist superintendent. This interview provides a useful look at one black principal's efforts to provide for a school neglected by a racist policy.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on November 18, 2008).

Interview participants: J.W. Mask, interviewee; Goldie F. Wells, interviewer.

Duration: 01:41:30.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 107.4 kilobytes, 185 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series M, Black high school principals, interview M-0013, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 20 p.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

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