Oral History Interview with William Dallas Herring, May 16, 1987. Interview C-0035. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Audio with Transcript
Listen Online with Text Transcript
(Requires QuickTime and JavaScript)
Transcript Only (62 p.)
HTML file
XML/TEI source file
Download Complete Audio File (MP3 format / ca. 257 MB, 02:20:39)
MP3
Abstract
William Dallas Herring, longtime chair of the North Carolina State Board of Education, discusses some of the issues he encountered during his tenure. He speaks in detail about education issues at the time of the interview, and offers his opinions on the state of democracy in the United States. Herring believes strongly in representative democracy, and worries that institutions across the country and in the state are falling prey to complacency, entrenched incumbency, and flawed processes. On a more granular level, Herring shares his opinion on proposed changes to the election of superintendent of education, evaluation of teacher performance, and curricula.
Excerpts
Unfair focus on the South's race problem
Decisions about public education must be made on a local level
Risk of drifting toward totalitarianism
Advocating grassroots democracy in school board politics
Learn More
Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
Subjects
North Carolina--Race relations
Educators--North Carolina
Herring, Dallas
North Carolina--Biography
The Southern Oral History Program transcripts presented here on
Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove
transcription errors. Texts may differ from the original transcripts
held by the Southern Historical Collection.
Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.