Draft for banquet

1. Golden Tiger
to
Greyhound
The Class of 1969 in their own
words

2. Morningside Highschool
• Since 1891 Morningside served the
Black community of Statesville,
North Carolina.
• To Morningside friends and alumni
it was a place of learning, a place of
community and place of pride….
• Morningside was sports; extra-
curriculars; EXCELLENCE…. but most
importantly Morningside was home.

3. Leroy Campbell former Principal of Unity
High School (deceased)
• We knew it was going to happen. See we you , you could
tell,ummm… the, there was a running battle almost like umm
Rommel in North Africa. Every community did not…no community
wanted to desegregate. They were unable to, the communities
were unable to prepare for for desegregation… and they didn’t
• Our community did nothing to prepare for desegregation. If I read
the law saying there would be no more separate schools but there
was no preparation made.

4. Joyce Rucker McCall and
Bernita Allison

5. In August 1954, following the Brown decision that segregated schools were inherently unequal,
Gov. William B. Umstead created the North Carolina Governor’s
Special Advisory Committee on Education in response to the Brown v. Board decision. This
newly formed committee developed the Pearsall Plan, which effectively kept all schools in
North Carolina segregated.
”The committee feels that a compulsory mixing of the races in our schools on a statewide
basis and without regard to local conditions and assignment factors other than race
would alienate public support of the schools to such an extent that they could not be
operated successfully.”
This attempt to block integration in North Carolina lasted a full 15 years and was finally ended
with the 1969 Godwin v. Johnston County Board of Education decision that reaffirmed Brown
declaring the Pearsall Plan unconstitutional and requiring the full integration of Public schools
in North Carolina.
From https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Hager,%20Jamie_2010_Thesis.pdf
In the summer of 1968 the students of Morningside Highschool learned their senior year would
occur at Statesville High School.

7. What was it like arriving at SHS
• Arnold.. It felt like I was leaving home I mean all my roots
everything my culture, everything I associated with was at
Morningside and when I get to Statesville High like I said it..we
didn’t have any representation because we didn’t meet over the
summer so we didn’t have any class…. we didn’t have any of our
Black students.. in any position …at the school

8. What was it like arriving at SHS
• Skip.. You that first day and I remember the first day that
uuh..uh.. I entered Statesville Highschool..umm and …we entered
the school ..uhh through the front door…hehahe..uhm and
people…uh that were there to certainly greet us and welcome us
into the school were nice and cordial…ummhh and umm
• you know the climate seemed that is was something uuhhmm
that..uuhh…. was going to work out ok for us…uuhmm.. The first
couple of days, the first week things were very cordial. There was
not any real problems..uuuhhmm.. everything seemed to be going
ok…so far..uuhh however we were still uhm very cautious …

9. What was it like arriving at SHS
• Joyce.. Maybe about the second or third month after we got there
after much turmoil after much apprehensiveness um we had what
they call a student council meeting
• And Skip was I guess you could say… had been chosen to be the
class spokesmen for our class.. And they did an assembly….uhh It
was a student council assembly and I remember distinctly nor
have I ever forgotten..uuuhh…him getting up doing his speech
…uhh and
• It was a speech designed to help unify us regarding what was going
on at that time

10. I heard……………

11. The ambush

12. “
”
Conflict. Change. Progress.. Mr. Hiatt Principal at Statesville Highschool 1969 (deceased)

13. We hear you

14. Morningside at SHS

15. Morningside Highschool
Statesville Highschool

16. Morningside Highschool