Difficulties of becoming the first black student at UNC
McKissick reflects on the harassment he endured and the difficulties of forging interracial friendships as the first black law student at UNC. He realized that to counteract racism, he and whites must forcefully resist racial discrimination and verbal taunts.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Floyd B. McKissick Sr., May 31, 1989. Interview L-0040. 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
- BRUCE KALK:
-
What was your experience as the first black students, along with the
other black students, at the University of North Carolina?
- FLOYD B. MCKISSICK, SR.:
-
Well, some of the students did not live on the campus. I was one of the
ones that lived on campus in a cubicle up there at Steele Hall, I think.
I was also a working student and I waited tables at a place called the
Barlett House. And working at the Barlett House out there I would work
in the evenings. My job would start at about five
o'clock and it would be over with around about one or two
o'clock at night, and then I'd come in and go to
bed and get up. So consequently, sometimes I was the only black student
on the campus. I was the only black there many a day. And at first,
there was an honor system in existence then. No doors were locked, and I
didn't lock my doors. I stayed in a cubicle where the other
black students were supposed to stay and did stay sometimes during the
day time. Many of them didn't want at night. So I was along
there. And they would come in and they'd put a black snake in
my drawer, a dead black snake, in my drawer on my shirts. They would put
water on your clothes. Put a bucket of water over your door to trick
you. When you come in, you opened the door, a bucket of water would
fail. Because see, no doors were locked. They would be half-way or
partially open. They had a lot of fun with you. They thought they were
having fun. You'd get a letter every day from the Klu Klux
Klan telling you that you're at the wrong place and
what's going to happen to you. You had a lot of threats. I,
however, didn't let the threats bother me too much. And when
I came in, I'd study. And classes started, I think, at 7:30
or 8:00, I would be in my class, and I'd be ready to go. And
then that summer, I think that things were segregated around the campus.
I had to establish my right to eat in Steele Hall dining room. That was
Lenoir Hall, I think, dining room. After two or three kids knocked the
trays out of my hand, I went through the line one day and made the big
announcement that I intend to eat today, and I don't intend
to let anybody knock any tray out of my hand anymore. I can't
afford it in the first place. And I walked through that line and
didn't nobody say nothing. And I stopped all that. I let them
know.
- BRUCE KALK:
-
Let me ask you sir, do you recall any other segregated facilities after
the technical desegregation of the University? For example, was sitting
at the library segregated or anything of that sort?
- FLOYD B. MCKISSICK, SR.:
-
Never had any trouble sitting at the library. There were some incidents
of some of the kids went to the swimming pool to swim and they
wouldn't let them in, and I told them this pool was going to
get integrated today, and I just went on and jumped into the pool. After
I jumped into the pool, I walked on out and nobody said anything to me
and I said nothing to anybody else. I said, "It's
integrated now." And that was it. No one ever said anything to
me about it or anything. I got soaking wet but it was so hot that day
that I got dry. But that was about all that occurred.
- BRUCE KALK:
-
Do you recall any of the students, faculty, or administration who were
supportive besides the people that you mentioned, or people who gave you
continued support once you arrived there?
- FLOYD B. MCKISSICK, SR.:
-
The lady is Anne Queen who was at the Y, who certainly gave us support
the whole time. There were a number of students. Don't forget
the pressure was on many of the white students that would try to treat
us nice, were called "nigger lovers." But there were
always a group of whites there who wanted us there, and who tried to
help us out in many ways. But they were under a great amount of
pressure, and some evenings they would come by and talk to me. When I
got there late at night, quite often there would be somebody to talk to
me, so long as no one was around to harass them, call them a
"nigger lover" for their associating with me. That was
one of the major problems that was going on any time someone would try
to befriend you or threat you nice and pick up a book for you. There
would always be a little choir around to holler,
"Nigger lover, nigger lover, nigger lover," and that
stopped many of the whites from trying to do anything.