Item Information
Title
Gwendolyn Harrison letter to the editor, Summer, 1951
Description
Gwendolyn Harrison, the first African American woman to enroll at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote this letter to the editor after being accepted into UNC but refused registration Summer, 1951. Voiced by Kathy Williams
Creator
PlayMaker’s Repertory Company in collaboration with the University Archives at Louis Round Wilson Library
Date
2021
Language
English
Identifier
https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/items/show/7504
Transcription
Gwendolyn Harrison letter to the editor, Summer, 1951.
To the Editor: I was proud of my State when I, one of its Negro citizens, received a letter informing me that I had been admitted to the first summer session of the University of North Carolina, and that I had been given a room assignment in one of the dormitories. I was proud because I thought that North Carolina at least was about to live up to the democratic ideals which are a part of the heritage of our great land.
I was happy when I arrived on the Campus at Chapel Hill on the morning of June 11, when I was given a room in Dormitory C, and told that I was to stay in that building.
When I attempted to register, I was shunted back and forth several times from the Gymnasium to South Hall, the Administrative Building. Undisturbed by what I felt to be simply routine registration procedure, I finally decided to leave my luggage at the dormitory before completing the process.
I am interested in earning a PH D degree in Spanish. The University of North Carolina offers such a degree. The trustees of the University have voted to admit qualified Negroes to the graduate school of that institution. Why, then, was I accepted by the University and then refused permission to register upon my arrival on the campus?
Gwendolyn L. Harrison
Kinston
To the Editor: I was proud of my State when I, one of its Negro citizens, received a letter informing me that I had been admitted to the first summer session of the University of North Carolina, and that I had been given a room assignment in one of the dormitories. I was proud because I thought that North Carolina at least was about to live up to the democratic ideals which are a part of the heritage of our great land.
I was happy when I arrived on the Campus at Chapel Hill on the morning of June 11, when I was given a room in Dormitory C, and told that I was to stay in that building.
When I attempted to register, I was shunted back and forth several times from the Gymnasium to South Hall, the Administrative Building. Undisturbed by what I felt to be simply routine registration procedure, I finally decided to leave my luggage at the dormitory before completing the process.
I am interested in earning a PH D degree in Spanish. The University of North Carolina offers such a degree. The trustees of the University have voted to admit qualified Negroes to the graduate school of that institution. Why, then, was I accepted by the University and then refused permission to register upon my arrival on the campus?
Gwendolyn L. Harrison
Kinston