Title: Oral History Interview with Arthur Griffin, May 7, 1999. Interview K-0168.
Identifier: K-0168
Interviewer: Grundy, Pamela
Interviewee: Griffin, Arthur
Subjects: School integration--North Carolina--Charlotte    West Charlotte High School (N.C.)    Charlotte (N.C.)--Race relations    Griffin, Arthur    
Extent: 00:00:01
Abstract:  Arthur Griffin, an African American man who attended segregated schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and later became involved in school politics there, reflects on the legacies of desegregation and the nature of racism in Charlotte and elsewhere. Griffin fondly remembers Second Ward High School (which closed in 1969) and its teachers, who struggled to provide their students with a stellar education despite vastly inadequate resources. While he mourns the loss of Second Ward during desegregation, he thinks the process improved Charlotte by teaching white and black people to work together. Still, desegregation was not a panacea; Griffin believes that race-related problems like low academic achievement among African Americans persist.