Oral history interview with Harvey E. Beech, September 25, 1996
Subtitle: interview J-0075, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Foye, Anita, 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 lawyers; Race relations; African Americans; Civil rights; College integration; African American law students; University of North Carolina (1793-1962). School of Law; University of North Carolina (1793-1962)
Other titles: Interview J-0075, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Harvey E. Beech, September 25, 1996; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Harvey E. Beech was born in Kinston, North Carolina, in 1923, the youngest of five children. Although Beech's father could not read or write, he saved his money and opened barbershops throughout the Kinston community. His business acumen afforded most of his children the opportunity to attend college. His youngest son, Harvey, however, was sent to Harris Barber College in Raleigh, North Carolina, since his older siblings' education had taken its toll on their father's bank account. Harvey's academic drive and passion for education led him to pursue a college degree. He earned enough money to attend Morehouse College, and his self-reliance, independence, and passion for changing social injustices propelled his interest in a legal career. To earn money for law school, he promoted black entertainers and opened a general store. In the early 1950s, Thurgood Marshall asked Beech to join a pending case against the University of North Carolina School of Law. Beech joined the case, along with J. Kenneth Lee. In 1951, Beech and Lee, along with James Lassiter, Floyd McKissick, and James Walker, became the first African American students to be enrolled at the UNC law school. Beech candidly discusses the psychological impact of desegregating an all-white institution, including his anger at having to give up his swimming pool privileges because of his race. He evaluates the strength of racism in U.S. society, while adamantly arguing that the abandonment of racial discrimination and racial identities would eliminate barriers among all races and ethnicities.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 18, 2008).

Interview participants: Harvey E. Beech, interviewee; Anita Foye, interviewer.

Duration: 01:33:50.

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. 136 kilobytes, 171 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series J, Legal professions, interview J-0075, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 46 p.

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

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.