Oral history interview with Bennie Higgins, December 28, 1990
Subtitle: interview M-0003, 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; High schools; Administration; School integration; Political aspects; African Americans; Education (Secondary); Race relations in school management
Other titles: Interview M-0003, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Bennie Higgins, December 28, 1990; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Bennie Higgins, an African American education professional in Greensboro, NC, ascended from a teaching job in 1965 to a city-wide administrative position in 1990. Much of this interview focuses on his tenure as principal of Smith High School. The interviewer questions Higgins about the daily administration of a principal's job, including hiring and cafeteria management. Researchers interested in these kinds of management details should look to the text in its entirety. Those interested in the role of race in Greensboro's public schools will find a few passages of particular interest, including excerpts about desegregation's impact on Higgins's career and the status of principals in the African American community in Greensboro. Toward the end, Higgins reflects on the role of black educators in desegregated schools, and the complex relationships between black and white students, teachers, and administrators. He sees much room for improvement in how teachers and administrators deal with race in the classroom, but also great opportunity for positive change.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 10, 2008).

Interview participants: Bennie Higgins, interviewee; Goldie F. Wells, interviewer.

Duration: 00:50:54.

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. 78 kilobytes, 93.2 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series M, Black high school principals, interview M-0003, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 14 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.