Oral history interview with Raymond Dawson, February 4, 1991
Subtitle: interview L-0133, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Link, William A., 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; Officials and employees; College integration; Higher education and state; Federal-state controversies; African American schools; Affirmative action programs in education; University of North Carolina (System)
Other titles: Interview L-0133, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Raymond Dawson, February 4, 1991; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Raymond Dawson became the Vice-President of Academic Affairs for the University of North Carolina during the 1970s. In this interview, he describes the tensions surrounding the desegregation of public institutions of education in North Carolina during the mid-1970s. Dawson begins by discussing the Adams v. Weinberger case, which scrutinized the state of desegregation in public education in ten southern states, including North Carolina. Focusing on the role of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in this process, Dawson explains how the current and future role of historically black colleges was an especially volatile subject. During this time, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) called on historically white colleges and universities to continue moving forward with integration while also ensuring the preservation of historically black colleges and universities. In addition, Dawson explains how debates about whether the new state veterinary school should be established at North Carolina State University or at North Carolina A&T became a central focus in the desegregation process. Dawson concludes the interview with a discussion of the negotiations between UNC President William Friday, Secretary of Education Joseph Califano, and HEW General Counsel Peter Libassi and his aide, David Breneman, which were demonstrative of the University of North Carolina's unique position in federal desegregation orders. Because of North Carolina's comparatively large number of historically black colleges, the state became a testing ground for the federal government to explore ways to integrate public education while preserving historically black colleges.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Dec. 16, 2008).

Interview participants: Raymond Dawson, interviewee; William Link, interviewer.

Duration: 00:46:25.

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. 68 kilobytes, 85.0 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series L, University of North Carolina, interview L-0133, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Karen Brady-Hill and Jane Burgess. Original transcript: 8 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.