Item Information
Title
Letter from Pauli Murray to Frank Porter Graham
Creator
Pauli Murray (1910-1985)
Source
Records of the Office of the President, Frank Porter Graham, University Archives (#40007)
Date
January 17, 1939
Type
Text
Text
225 W. 110 Street
Apartment 5
New York, N.Y.
January 17, 1939
Dr. Frank P. Graham, President
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Dear Sir:
I have followed with interest the various activities and statements which have grown out of the issue of admitting Negroes to the University of North Carolina. Now that the air has cleared a bit, may I present a point of view which I believe warrants some consideration? First, let me say that despite the legal implications of this controversy, which as you say, rest in the hands of the State and its courts, I have no desire to stir up racial conflict or student antagonism on the campus. That would be unwise on the part of any prospective student.
Secondly, as you must know from the date of my application, I knew nothing of the Lloyd Gaines case at the time I applied. I did know, however, of Thomas Hocutt’s attempt to enter your School of Pharmacy some three or more years ago. From my conversations with him, I gained the impression that he was rejected on the grounds that his educational qualifications made him ineligible to enter the university. Hocutt received his undergraduate training in a Negro college of North Carolina.
This very fact reenforces the assertion that Negro schools in North Carolina have not been given those facilities which will place them on a par with white schools. Furthermore, accepting your premise that further segregation in the graduate schools is a "wise long-range solution", what guarantee have the Negro students of North Carolina that their graduate facilities will be any higher in quality than their undergraduate schools? My personal contacts with other Negro students who have come to Northern colleges for their graduate work, on the basis of their own admissions, has led me to believe that their undergraduate work was so inadequate, that it was necessary for them to take additional courses or remain in school a longer period of time to supply this deficiency.
What some members of your school have failed to realize are
the following facts:
1. I am particularly interested in the Public Welfare and Social Science Department of your school. This interest was stimulated by my visit to this department in the Spring of 1934 and through my contact with the publications which have come from this department.
2. That your Social Science Department has developed a series of courses which are basic for any understanding of the social, economic and racial problems of the South, and the names of Professors Johnson and Odum rank high in the field of sociology for their contributions to literature on these problems; that they naturally attract serious-minded students who are interested in this particular phase of American life.
3, That I am well aware of the difficulties and problems which will confront any inter-racial undertaking south of the Mason-and-Dixon line, that I can appreciate the psychological conflicts which would arise in the minds of a group of students faced with a sudden departure from a traditional policy of racial segregation, but that I believe this problem can be met through frank, open discussion by representatives of both groups, I conceive of a give-and-take process where prejudices are openly aired and accounted for, where correct interpretations are ma.de and where enlightenment is gained in an atmosphere of mutual co-operation and respect,
4, That even if the University does admit Negro students, the qualifications required will eliminate those Negro applicants who have not reached the same educational and intellectual development of the students already present at the school. Such Negro students, it seems to me, would have a definite contribution to make to inter-racial understanding and good will,
5, That the majority of thinking Negroes regard, with skepticism, the recommendation of ’’equal graduate schools for Negroes in North Carolina”, that they consider it an evasion on the part of Southern white leaders and a strengthening of the bars of racial inequality. That while the majority of Negroes are no more anxious to mix socially with whites than the whites are with Negroes, they rightfully resent any law which prohibits their admittance to any public institution of learning solely because of race,
6, That although many Negroes remain silent and tactful in the presence of whites, any ”idealist” pressing for the logical consequences of the democratic concept ’’equal rights” is merely articulating the unexpressed, unrevealed desires and sentiments of the group which he represents,
7, That the opinion which I express here and in all other statements, flows directly from my great desire to get at the bottom of those racial prejudices which so inhibit the development of" human beings, whether they he white or black. That I left the South to try and find the answer, but the enlightenment gained here is not enough; that the answer to some of my questions lies in the hearts and minds and intelligence of Southern whites as well as in ourselves, and there is no better place to find some of these answers than in an institution of higher learning with a tradition of liberal thought.
Finally, since the recent polls conducted at your University indicates an active student interest in this problem, would there be any place in your school program to conduct a discussion at which some of the following questions could be raised for study? (This same experiment was tried out at Harvard University some years ago on the question of Jewish students. I am sure many Negro students all over the country would appreciate knowing the findings of such a discussion.)
1 What is social equality? Is ’’social equality” the same as ’’racial equality”? Is an inter-racial conference an expression of social equality?
2. Does the concept of democracy include equal rights for minority groups?
3. To what extent would the admission of a Negro student to the University of North Carolina affect the prestige of the school?
4. What advantages might be gained, if any, through admitting a Negro student to classes? What disadvantages?
5. If the purposes of higher education are to gain insight into social problems, what valid objections would white students have in admitting a Negro student to their classes?
6. To what extent would white students be able to discuss Negroes frankly if a Negro were present in their classes?
7. What conduct would white students expect on the part of a Negro student on the campus?
8. If the students of the University of North Carolina are convinced that it is unjust, unwise and dictatorial to admit a Negro student into their classes, by what means can they test this theory in real life if they have not had the experience of a Negro student on the campus?
9. What have been the experiences of Southern white students in Northern universities where they found Negro students? Have these students left school? Has the presence of Negroes in their classes hampered their ability to learn?
10. What has been the experience of the athletic teams of the University of North Carolina in playing those schools having a Negro on the team? Has it been distasteful? Has it been successful? If successful, can the spirit of fair play evidenced on the football field be transferred to the classroom and with what degree of success.
Would it be possible to get any student opinion on these questions?
Yours very truly,
Pauli Murray
Copies to;
The TAR HEEL
UNIVERSITY OF N.C.
The DURHAM MORNING HERALD
Durham, North Carolina
The CAROLINA TIMES
Durham, N.C.
Apartment 5
New York, N.Y.
January 17, 1939
Dr. Frank P. Graham, President
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Dear Sir:
I have followed with interest the various activities and statements which have grown out of the issue of admitting Negroes to the University of North Carolina. Now that the air has cleared a bit, may I present a point of view which I believe warrants some consideration? First, let me say that despite the legal implications of this controversy, which as you say, rest in the hands of the State and its courts, I have no desire to stir up racial conflict or student antagonism on the campus. That would be unwise on the part of any prospective student.
Secondly, as you must know from the date of my application, I knew nothing of the Lloyd Gaines case at the time I applied. I did know, however, of Thomas Hocutt’s attempt to enter your School of Pharmacy some three or more years ago. From my conversations with him, I gained the impression that he was rejected on the grounds that his educational qualifications made him ineligible to enter the university. Hocutt received his undergraduate training in a Negro college of North Carolina.
This very fact reenforces the assertion that Negro schools in North Carolina have not been given those facilities which will place them on a par with white schools. Furthermore, accepting your premise that further segregation in the graduate schools is a "wise long-range solution", what guarantee have the Negro students of North Carolina that their graduate facilities will be any higher in quality than their undergraduate schools? My personal contacts with other Negro students who have come to Northern colleges for their graduate work, on the basis of their own admissions, has led me to believe that their undergraduate work was so inadequate, that it was necessary for them to take additional courses or remain in school a longer period of time to supply this deficiency.
What some members of your school have failed to realize are
the following facts:
1. I am particularly interested in the Public Welfare and Social Science Department of your school. This interest was stimulated by my visit to this department in the Spring of 1934 and through my contact with the publications which have come from this department.
2. That your Social Science Department has developed a series of courses which are basic for any understanding of the social, economic and racial problems of the South, and the names of Professors Johnson and Odum rank high in the field of sociology for their contributions to literature on these problems; that they naturally attract serious-minded students who are interested in this particular phase of American life.
3, That I am well aware of the difficulties and problems which will confront any inter-racial undertaking south of the Mason-and-Dixon line, that I can appreciate the psychological conflicts which would arise in the minds of a group of students faced with a sudden departure from a traditional policy of racial segregation, but that I believe this problem can be met through frank, open discussion by representatives of both groups, I conceive of a give-and-take process where prejudices are openly aired and accounted for, where correct interpretations are ma.de and where enlightenment is gained in an atmosphere of mutual co-operation and respect,
4, That even if the University does admit Negro students, the qualifications required will eliminate those Negro applicants who have not reached the same educational and intellectual development of the students already present at the school. Such Negro students, it seems to me, would have a definite contribution to make to inter-racial understanding and good will,
5, That the majority of thinking Negroes regard, with skepticism, the recommendation of ’’equal graduate schools for Negroes in North Carolina”, that they consider it an evasion on the part of Southern white leaders and a strengthening of the bars of racial inequality. That while the majority of Negroes are no more anxious to mix socially with whites than the whites are with Negroes, they rightfully resent any law which prohibits their admittance to any public institution of learning solely because of race,
6, That although many Negroes remain silent and tactful in the presence of whites, any ”idealist” pressing for the logical consequences of the democratic concept ’’equal rights” is merely articulating the unexpressed, unrevealed desires and sentiments of the group which he represents,
7, That the opinion which I express here and in all other statements, flows directly from my great desire to get at the bottom of those racial prejudices which so inhibit the development of" human beings, whether they he white or black. That I left the South to try and find the answer, but the enlightenment gained here is not enough; that the answer to some of my questions lies in the hearts and minds and intelligence of Southern whites as well as in ourselves, and there is no better place to find some of these answers than in an institution of higher learning with a tradition of liberal thought.
Finally, since the recent polls conducted at your University indicates an active student interest in this problem, would there be any place in your school program to conduct a discussion at which some of the following questions could be raised for study? (This same experiment was tried out at Harvard University some years ago on the question of Jewish students. I am sure many Negro students all over the country would appreciate knowing the findings of such a discussion.)
1 What is social equality? Is ’’social equality” the same as ’’racial equality”? Is an inter-racial conference an expression of social equality?
2. Does the concept of democracy include equal rights for minority groups?
3. To what extent would the admission of a Negro student to the University of North Carolina affect the prestige of the school?
4. What advantages might be gained, if any, through admitting a Negro student to classes? What disadvantages?
5. If the purposes of higher education are to gain insight into social problems, what valid objections would white students have in admitting a Negro student to their classes?
6. To what extent would white students be able to discuss Negroes frankly if a Negro were present in their classes?
7. What conduct would white students expect on the part of a Negro student on the campus?
8. If the students of the University of North Carolina are convinced that it is unjust, unwise and dictatorial to admit a Negro student into their classes, by what means can they test this theory in real life if they have not had the experience of a Negro student on the campus?
9. What have been the experiences of Southern white students in Northern universities where they found Negro students? Have these students left school? Has the presence of Negroes in their classes hampered their ability to learn?
10. What has been the experience of the athletic teams of the University of North Carolina in playing those schools having a Negro on the team? Has it been distasteful? Has it been successful? If successful, can the spirit of fair play evidenced on the football field be transferred to the classroom and with what degree of success.
Would it be possible to get any student opinion on these questions?
Yours very truly,
Pauli Murray
Copies to;
The TAR HEEL
UNIVERSITY OF N.C.
The DURHAM MORNING HERALD
Durham, North Carolina
The CAROLINA TIMES
Durham, N.C.