Teachers shield students from turmoil of desegregation
Teachers and administrators shielded their students from the turmoil of integration, McAllister remembers in this excerpt.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Latrelle McAllister, June 25, 1998. Interview K-0173. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
PG: Well and it seems like she accomplished that under some fairly difficult circumstances perhaps. Or my sense from looking at the paper and all was that that was a pretty turbulent time especially the early ‘70s.
LM: I don’t think, as young people, we experienced that or had a feel for that. That’s perhaps one of the things the administrators did very well. We were really insulated. We didn’t feel that turmoil or that stress or tension. I’m sure she knew what was going on and worked accordingly. But there was never--. We were allowed to be teenagers. We were allowed to be high schoolers. So, we didn’t have that burden on us. It was a--. I think that’s important, too. But one of the things that--. There are a lot of excellent scholars. West Charlotte has produced a lot of folks that have gone on to make great contributions to the community. They certainly have produced their share of excellent athletes, as well.