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NC State University will host a year-long celebration
honoring the 50th Anniversary of the first African
American Undergraduates at NC State University. In
the summer of 1956, Edward Carson and Manuel Crockett
were the first two African American freshman undergraduates
admitted. In the fall, they were joined by Walter
Holmes and Irwin Holmes, Jr. A task-force has been
developed to provide programming throughout this
academic year to celebrate the mark of this Golden
Anniversary. The task-force is being co-chaired by
Dr. Tracey Ray, Director for African American Student
Affairs and Felicia J. Baity, Assistant Director
for African American Student Affairs. Retired professor,
Dr. Lawrence Clark is serving as a consultant to
the task force. This landmark celebration will honor
the past 50 years, recognizing the triumphs as well
as the struggles, in addition to paving the way for
the next 50 years of African American success at
NC State University.
BREAKING GROUND AT NC STATE UNIVERSITY
FIFTY YEARS OF INTEGRATION: 1956-2006
Historical overview of “The FOUR” by
Diane Hill Becton, Class of 1973
(Reprinted with the permission of Diane Hill Becton)
In 1955, State College of Raleigh
(now NC State University) was forced to lift its
ban against black undergraduate students after Frasier
versus University (1955) declared that blacks must
be admitted to UNC-Chapel Hill’s undergraduate
program. State College being part of the Consolidated
University of North Carolina had to abide by Federal
Law.
Two black undergraduates, Edward Carson and Manuel
Crockett, both from Raleigh, were admitted as freshmen
in the summer of 1956. Irwin Holmes and Walter Holmes,
both from Durham, but not related, would join Carson
and Crockett for the 1956 Fall Semester. All were
engineering students. Edward Carson, Manuel Crockett
and Irwin Holmes enrolled in electrical engineering.
Walter Holmes enrolled in mechanical engineering
with an aerospace option.
These four young men made arrangements to live off
campus during the 1956-57 school year because there
weren’t any integrated dormitories. In preparation
of the arrival of black students, on June 23, 1956
a special mandate was sent campus wide letting all
facility administrators know that the “university
policy is to treat all regularly enrolled students
in the same way, regardless of race. This means that
in the dining halls and activities, Negro students
will be treated exactly like white students, without
special concessions or restrictions.”
In 1956, Walter Holmes became the first black member
of the marching band. Mr. Holmes stated that white
students at State accepted his presence, but he
was often intimidated by white students on other
campuses
and some times could not march with the band. Irwin
Holmes had similar discriminatory experiences on
the 1957 tennis team as he traveled to other campuses.
Of course, Irwin was the first black to play tennis
at NC State. He was co-captain of the team during
his senior year.
Manuel Crockett and Irwin Holmes were the first
black athletes in the Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC).
They were members of the track team in 1957.
In 1958, Walter Holmes became the first black
to play
soccer.
In 1960, Irwin Holmes became the first black
to receive an undergraduate degree from NC
State. Edward Carson
and Walter Holmes received their degree from
NC
State in 1962. Manuel Crockett transferred
to North Carolina
Central University in pursuit of another curriculum.
He graduated from NCCU in 1962.
Edward Carson and Manuel Crockett both live
in Raleigh and Irwin Holmes lives in Durham.
Walter
Holmes also
lived in Durham until he passed away on March
13, 2004.
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Schedule of
Programs and Events:
Fall Kick-off
Events:
- Commemorative Banners throughout campus
- Launch of 50th Anniversary Fundraising
campaign
- Launch of online Black Alumni Survey to
identify the 100 Most Influential Black Alumni
- Debut
of 50th Anniversary Commemorative Memorabilia
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Fall 2006 Events:
| October
18th |
Opening
Celebration - Stewart Theater
3pm-4:30pm (Reception to follow)
(Sponsored by the Office for Diversity & African
American Affairs & the Division of Student
Affairs)
This program will commemorate the first
20 years of African American Students at
NC
State University (1953-1973). In addition
to honoring our first four African
American Undergraduate students (Carson, Crockett, I. Holmes, and W. Holmes),
the event will honor and include Hardy Liston, Jr. (1953 Graduate Student), Norma
Wright Garcia (1964-first African American female student and graduate) and the
family of Robert L. Clemons (deceased; 1953 Graduate Student and the first African
American to graduate from NC State University; 1957 master’s degree in
Electrical Engineering). The event will include a presentation of university
history/timeline, honor and recognition of our first students and a panel discussion.
Panelists will include our first students, Dr. Larry Monteith (former Chancellor
and 1956 freshman), and Ronald Butler (former Associate Vice-Chancellor in the
Division of Student Affairs).
>> Click
to View Flyer <<
>> Click Here to view
the Story that
Appeared in the Alumni
Magazine <<
>> Download
Alumni Magazine Cover Here <<
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| November 2nd |
Nell
Painter Lecture (Civil Rights and the
last 50 years) - 6pm, Stewart Theatre
(Sponsored
by the African American Cultural Center & Association
for Black Cultural Centers)
Nell Painter is a leading historian
in the United States. Recently retired,
Painter
had served as the Edwards Professor of
American History and Director of African-American
Studies (1997-2000) at Princeton University.
Painter’s latest book is Creating
Black Americans: African American History
and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present
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| November
3rd-4th |
Homecoming
Weekend
University Homecoming Information
http://www.alumni.ncsu.edu/homecoming/
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| November
4th |
Black
Alumni Society’s
Semi-Annual General Body Meeting
* Note: Voting to take place for 2007-2009 Executive Board
“Unveiling of the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Print”
Black Alumni Society Information
http://www.marbelinc.com/bas/
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| December
5th |
Focus
on Race Relations (Keynote
Speaker: C.T. Vivian)
6pm, Stewart Theatre
(Kwanzaa Program- Sponsored by African American Student Affairs)
Rev. C. T. Vivian is a living legend of
the Civil Rights Movement and he continues
his activism today, tirelessly working
for the progress of African Americans and
the civil and political rights of all peoples.
Vivian is also the founder of the Black
Action Strategies and Information Center
(BASIC), a workplace consultancy on race
relations and multicultural training. He
provided diversity training to students,
faculty and staff at NC State University
for over 20 years. He will share his perspective
on where NC State has been, where it is
and where it should be going in terms of
race relations. (Note: His son Al Vivian
assumed leadership of BASIC in 1999 and
continues to provide training to NC State
University). |
Proposed Spring 2007 Events:
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| January
11th |
MLK: Carson
Clayburn & NC
State Archives Display
(Sponsored by the African American Cultural Center)
Dr. Clayborne Carson teaches at Stanford
University, where he is now professor of
history and director of the King Papers
Project. Carson's scholarly publications
have focused on African American protest
movements and political thought of the
period after World War II. Carson also
served as senior advisor for a fourteen-part,
award-winning, public television series
on the civil rights movement entitled Eyes
on the Prize and co-edited the Eyes on
the Prize Civil Rights Reader. In 1985,
Coretta Scott King invited Carson to direct
a long-term project to edit and publish
the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This project was initiated by the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent
Social Change in Atlanta and is being conducted
in association with Stanford University
and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Estate.
Under Carson's direction, the King Papers
Project has produced four volumes of a
projected fourteen-volume comprehensive
edition of King's speeches, sermons, correspondence,
publications, and unpublished writings.
Following the Clayborne Carson lecture,
archival displays of the African American
experience at NC State over the last 50+
years will be showcased in the Talley Student
Center Ballroom, North & South Galleries.
>> Click
Here for Information about Clayborne
Carson << |
| January
22nd |
Focus on African
Americans & Athletics
at NC State
(More information coming soon)
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| January
31st |
Luncheon
on Recruitment, Retention & Graduation
of African Americans
Keynote Speaker, Alumnus, Dr. Dwight Williams
(Freshman Honors Convocation-Sponsored by African American Student Affairs)
Dr. Dwight Williams was named the “2005-2006
Young Engineer of the Year” by the
National Society of Professional Engineers
(NSPE). He is the first African American
to receive this honor. Dwight earned his
masters and bachelor’s degrees in
nuclear engineering from NC State University.
He earned his doctorate in nuclear engineering
from the University of Maryland at College
Park. Dwight currently serves as Chief
Engineer/ Principal Nuclear Physicist within
U.S. Department of Defense. At the Department
of Defense, he is responsible for all nuclear,
biological and chemical analysis with the
Pentagon’s Technical Applications
Division. He is also serving as the Martin
Luther King Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Department
of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
>> Click
Here for Information about Dwight Williams <<
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| February
15th |
Black History Month
Program - Topic TBA
(Sponsored by the Union Activities Board-Black Students Board) |
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| March |
Focus on Student
Activities, Leadership & Greek Life
(More information coming soon)
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| March
25 - April 1 |
Pan-Afrikan Festival/BAS
Conference
Rededication Ceremony & Time Capsule
Burial
(Sponsored by the UAB, Black Students Board and the Black Alumni Society) |
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| April
27th |
Ebony Harlem
Awards (50th Anniversary Finale)
(Co-sponsored by African American Student Affairs and the African American Cultural Center) |
Film Series: (Dates
TBA)
The Image of NCSU in the Black Community
Eyes on the Prize (Part II)
Many Steps (The Origin and Evolution of African
American Collegiate Stepping)
What’s Race Got to Do with It? : Social
Disparities and Student Success
Glory Road
Conclusion: (April/May)
50th Anniversary Publication
50th Anniversary DVD
Special Edition 50th Anniversary Commemorative Print
Other
Events occurring on campus:
| November 2-11th |
University Theatre's
production of Pearl Cleage's
BOURBON AT THE BORDER
The story of a young black couple who went
down south to Mississippi to register
voters during Freedom Summer, only to find
that even decades later, the price of freedom
is never paid in full. Show begins at 8pm
daily; 3pm Sunday matinee. For tickets and
complete details go to:
http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/theatre/calendar.html
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| November
3-5th |
National
Association of Black Cultural Centers Annual
Conference
http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/diversity/abcc/
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| February 21st |
African American
Cultural Center’s Annual Clark
Lecture
Featuring Na’im Akbar
Dr. Akbar is one of the world's preeminent
African-American psychologists and a pioneer
in the development of an African-centered
approach in modern psychology. A former president
of the National Association of Black Psychologists,
Akbar teaches in the Department of Psychology
at Florida State University in Tallahassee,
and is the Director of his private consulting
firm: Mind Productions and Associates. He
has written five books and over twenty-five
scholarly articles.
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| April 5th |
University Brotherhood
Dinner
Featuring 2007 Benjamin E. Mays Award Recipient:
Dr. Lawrence Clark
Dr. Lawrence Clark was NC State’s
second African American to serve as a University
Administrator. He began his career at NC
State in 1973 as a Vice-Provost and Professor
of Math Education. He has demonstrated an
untiring commitment to serving NC State in
leadership, scholarship and service. He and
long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Augustus
M. Witherspoon contributed to the creation
of many programs and services to better serve
African American Students such as the African
American Symposium, Peer Mentor Program,
University Brotherhood Dinner, African American
College Coordinators model, and the Association
for the Concerns of African American Graduate
Students, to name a few.
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| April 12th |
Annual Association
for the Concerns of African American Graduate
Students Banquet. For more information
visit http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/acaags/html/homeset.html
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>> Back
to Top <<
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Dear 50th Anniversary Supporters,
Greetings, on behalf of the Office of African
American Student Affairs! As you may know, this
academic year, NC State University is hosting
a year-long celebration honoring the 50th Anniversary
of the first African American Undergraduates
at NC State University. This landmark celebration
honors the past 50 years, recognizing the triumphs
and struggles, in addition to paving the way
for the next 50 years of African American undergraduate
and graduate success at NC State University.
This correspondence is in reference to a $50,000
campaign to raise money to support the ongoing
celebration of this important milestone, as well
as enhancing current and ongoing programs and
services of African American Student Affairs.
A complete listing of programs planned for the
year can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/msa/goldenanniversary.php.
You will see from the website and the enclosed
brochure that there is an extensive amount of
programming planned and underway. This year long
commemoration not only honors those that paved
the way, it will detail the history of African
Americans at NC State University. Did you know
that Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke on the campus
of NC State? Or that George Washington Carver
was invited to speak on the campus, long before
any African American students were enrolled here?
These are facts that all alum, students, faculty
and staff should know. In addition, the commemoration
points out areas of growth, decline, progress
and struggle over the last 50 years, including
present day issues that the university still
contends with annually.
We hope to conclude the year-long commemoration
with the production of a 50th Anniversary
historical and pictorial publication as well as a DVD/VHS
covering the programs and events of the year.
One of the year’s highlights is the identification
of the 100 most influential Black Alum. The final
event Rededication Ceremony and Time Capsule
Burial tentatively scheduled to take place on
April 27th.
In order to complete the year’s goals
and activities and continue our goal of enhancing
student opportunities, we really need your support.
There are various giving levels. All
donors at the $100 giving level and above will
receive
a copy of the Limited Edition 50th Anniversary
Print that was designed by alumnus J.
Stacy Utley. To give, simply the complete
the pledge card in the enclosed brochure (click
here to download the brochure) or go online
to https://www.acs.ncsu.edu/scripts/Advance/af_makeagift.pl and
select the category of “Other” and
type in “50th Anniversary Commemoration”.
A donation by or before May 30th is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your support and caring for our
current alum and developing future alum.
Sincerely,
Tracey E. Ray, Ph.D., Director
NC State Alum, 1993, 1997 & 2001
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