Oral history interview with Raymond Dawson, February 4, 1991

Raymond H. Dawson

Raymond Dawson became the Vice-President of Academic Affairs for the University of North Carolina during the 1970s. In this interview, he describes the tensions surrounding the desegregation of public institutions of education in North Carolina during the mid-1970s. Dawson begins by discussing the Adams v. Weinberger case, which scrutinized the state of desegregation in public education in ten southern states, including North Carolina. Focusing on the role of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in this process, Dawson explains how the current and future role of historically black colleges was an especially volatile subject. During this time, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) called on historically white colleges and universities to continue moving forward with integration while also ensuring...