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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with Leroy Campbell, January 4, 1991. Interview M-0007. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#40007) See Entire Interview >>

Segregated schools enjoyed stability and community cohesion

Campbell describes some of the benefits of segregated schools, including a stable workforce, a cohesive community, and committed administrative leadership. He recalls the constructive input of the State Supervisor of Black Schools. Researchers interested in some of the changes Campbell initiated under the supervisor's leadership should continue reading after the end of this passage.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Leroy Campbell, January 4, 1991. Interview M-0007. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#40007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

GOLDIE F. WELLS:
How did you supervise your personnel and how did you select your teachers?
LEROY CAMPBELL:
In the early fifties, Black faculties were stable. If you got a good teacher, a good teacher wanted to stay. If you were doing something, they would stay. I worked all those years. I only had problems with recommending one person to be discharged from working with me. Several people quit because if you didn't want to run fast, they said well I want slow racing, they quit and went where they could work like that. But I didn't have any problems with anything like that. I selected usually on their academic training. I used that as the primary thing because my feelings were that if a person could take the time to train themselves, he had the commitment and discipline to be a good teacher. My place then was to motivate and supervise and help the person become what he wanted. He had already shown what he wanted to do and he was trained.
GOLDIE F. WELLS:
Curriculum and instruction. I want to know how much input that you had in the curriculum and instruction of your school.
LEROY CAMPBELL:
The good thing about segregated schools is that you could assemble a good staff and get a good school atmosphere and get parents working with what you are doing. You could do almost anything because you had no interference. I think we achieved that and I had maintained--Dr. Frank Tolliver had been my high school principal. He was the principal of Asheville and he became State Supervisor of Black schools. He and Sam Duncan. Mr. Tolliver came to me and talked to me. Dr. Duncan came first. I had known Dr. Duncan because I went to Livingstone two or three days, and I had to stay with my uncle over there and I left the same year. So Dr. Duncan came and talked with me. He expanded my vision of where I could go or where the school could go.