Pritchett distances himself from other reactionary police officials
Pritchett distances himself from other extremist police officials of the time, such as Jim Clark and Bull Connor. He returns to this difference later in the interview. He also shares a story of the types of prejudices blacks faced. As a result of his empathy, Pritchett attempted to offer more opportunities to blacks as chief of police, which he credits as eliminating the racial prejudice.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Laurie Pritchett, April 23, 1976. Interview B-0027. 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
JAMES RESTON, Jr.:
That's really an interesting thing to me. Somebody else wrote this. Now
this is from the opposing side. It says, "A tension of love and
hate for the whites existed. It was another sense of strength that the
movement fed upon, because when the name of a dread or evil
symbol--now you have to understand where they're
coming from--"of white tyranny would be mentioned... " And then you're mentioned, along with Jim Clark and Beau
Conner and Brenner.
- LAURIE PRITCHETT:
-
There's no comparison between us three people.
JAMES RESTON, Jr.:
He says, " ...a murmur would go up in the audience: in part
disdained loathing, but also in part a strange kind of laughter, almost
fond, something in it of a real appreciation, their ability to stand off
and chuckle over having shared so much with a person in
struggle."
- LAURIE PRITCHETT:
-
Well, you know, in court one day I referred to attorney King as C. B.,
and C. B. referred to me as Laurie. Well, the judge didn't say anything
when I referred to him as C. B., but when he referred to me as Laurie he
gravelled and gravelled and said, "You will refer to him as
Chief Pritchett." And I said, "Look, your honor, we're
friends. My friends can call me Laurie." And this is the way it
went. Everything was all right, but there was nothing said when I
referred to him as C.B. That was fine, you know; but when he referred to
me as Laurie, this was ...well, it wasn't his position to do this
(you know, it was a black man to a white man). My compassion...you
know, when I came to High Point as chief of police in 1966, they had
blacks on the department. They had had a couple
that had been on it for years. But they dealt with nothing but blacks.
They couldn't make a white arrest. And I stated there in my opening
address for all the personnel that the day of blacks
riding the black section was over, that they would patrol the white
sections, that there would be no more of this going up to speak to the
banker as Mr. Banker when you get into the black section. You refer to
them as blacks or Negroes. But there'd be no more of this. I elevated
blacks into command positions. Well, I think High Point, North Carolina
during my tenure of office we had the best race relations in the
history. So I think this speaks that there was no prejudice so far as I
was concerned.