Fifty Years Later the Class of 1969 Reflects on the Greensboro Uprising
The year 1969 marked the culmination of an extremely racially tense decade. The era required many in the African American community to cooperate in an effort to obtain equal rights all across the southeastern United States. Many times, peaceful protests gave way to hateful, violent, and at times even fatal outcomes. The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University class of 1969 witnessed this tragic turn first-hand.
The unrest was initiated at James B. Dudley High School, an all-black school, located less than two miles away from North Carolina A&T’s campus. Claude Barnes, a student who was favored to win the SGA race, was omitted from the ballot a day before votes were cast. The decision to exclude Barnes came from the Dudley administration because of his advocacy for black power.
Despite being withheld as a polling option, Barnes received over 500 write-in votes. The closest candidate received 400 fewer votes but was declared the winner of the election. The student body felt that their voices fell on deaf ears, and that school administration were traitors for favoring with the district. In turn, students planned picketing sessions and school walkouts over an eight-day period.
The N.C. A&T Student Organization for Black Unity supported Dudley students in their plans to protest, also acting as mediators by setting up community gatherings. The students made contact with Dudley administrators and even with their efforts, there was no resolve.
As demonstrations began to grow in quantity and frequency, they also grew in fervency. A student protest on May 21, near the high school was met with police in riot gear. Rocks were thrown and tear gas was used on Dudley and A&T students. After the chaos subsided, 27 Dudley students were suspended, and the crowd dispersed, after a couple of hours.
Within a few hours, the crowd reformed, throwing rocks at passing white motorists near East Market Street and Benbow Road. The police responded with tear gas in an effort to break up the gathering again, but this time was different. At around 10:45 pm., reports of sniper fire near Laurel Street coming from A&T’s campus put police on high alert. They were instructed by Major E. R. Wynn to return fire and protect themselves if they felt endangered, according to the Greensboro Daily News newspaper.
On May 22, early in the morning, N.C. A&T student Willie E. Grimes was fatally shot in the head by a passing motorist near Summit Avenue. The police were instructed to remain silent on the matter by Greensboro Mayor Jack Elam, but they did reference the autopsy report, which suggested he was killed by a bullet smaller than standard issue police rounds, according to the Greensboro Daily News. Police later acknowledged that they did have weapons that could’ve fired the round, but after years of investigation, there was no indication that an officer was involved.
N.C. A&T students expressed their anger and disapproval and they were met with tactical opposition. North Carolina Governor Robert Scott and Mayor Elam made arrangements for the National Guard to intervene that morning. That evening at 4 p.m., President Lewis C. Dowdy declared that the university would close with concern for the safety of the students.
The National Guard responded to the call with over 500 national guardsmen, a tank, and a helicopter. Before long, the land grant campus was transformed into a war-like zone, with guardsmen applying suppressive fire into the side of Scott Hall, closed roads, and barricaded the area.
On the morning of May 23, without warning, male students who lived in Scott and Cooper Halls were awakened to guardsmen shooting their locks off and ordering them to vacate their dorms. Students were loaded on buses and taken to the city and county jails, where some were booked and processed as inmates.
Later that evening, the students were released and returned to their dorms. The university being closed two days prior left final exams for underclassmen and the graduation ceremony in an air of uncertainty. The details about the commencement were passed down through word of mouth.
The class of 1969 had their graduation ceremony on June 1, in Moore Gymnasium. There were 530 graduates in attendance, as the keynote speaker, District Court Judge Elreta Alexander declared “a man is free when he can see that his brother is none other than he.”
The class of 1969’s courage and resilience in the midst of a war-zone environment are evident to their extraordinary strength and determination. As they were forced to endure tear gas canisters and crawling under bullets flying overhead, their contributions are forever weaved into the fabric of North Carolina A&T State University, standing as a testament to the will-power of those who bleed blue and gold.
Here are the stories from the members of the Class of 1969:
Dr. Sandra Alexander ’69, Retired North Carolina A&T English Professor
“I worked as a student counselor in Curtis Hall, it was a freshman dorm for girls and North Carolina A&T was in turmoil. I can remember the night of May 21. I received the order to lock down the dorm and to not let anyone in. Outside of the dorm, all you could hear was gunfire from students and police. When I looked out the window, all I could see was male students running back and forth across Holland Bowl trying to escape the gunfire and tear gas. They eventually started banging on the doors and the girls let the boys in and there was nothing I could do. Some of the men were able to escape Scott Hall during the shooting and the black community around A&T stepped up and united to house some of the students.”
Allen Jennings ’69, Retired Agricultural Teacher
“I lived in Cooper Hall and I remember being on the first floor when the National Guard came in that morning and shot the locks off the doors. They ordered all of us out and when we were outside we were forced to crawl with bullets flying over our heads to the buses from Cooper Hall to U.S. 29. The guardsmen took us to the city jail and we were released later that evening. When we returned to campus they informed us that we had to leave immediately and we weren’t allowed to gather our belongings.”
Phyllis Banks Fulton ’69, Retired Social Worker
“I worked in Holland Hall as a student counselor for freshmen girls and I was so excited in May 1969 because I had just received my letter that I was graduating. On the evening of May 22, the lights went out in the dorm and I heard the girls scream. I went into the hallway and tear gas was filling the halls, I told all of the girls to wet towels and put them at the bottom of the doors to keep the gas out. The next morning I remember looking out the window at the sun rise and when I looked down, I saw the National Guards pointing rifles at Holland Hall. It was a complete war zone.”
Donald Jones ’69, Retired Educator and Ordained Minister
“I lived in Cooper Hall my senior year on the first floor and my room faced Scott Hall. I saw the National Guard moving in and the students taking positions at Scott Hall and it was nonstop gunfire all night. I was in my room on the floor when the guardsmen shot tear gas into Cooper Hall. My roommate and I put wet towels around our faces. As we exited the dorm we were immediately commanded to get on buses to go to jail. When we arrived, we were informed that the jails were too full and that we had to leave campus immediately without our belongings. I was able to secure a ride to the bus station and when I arrived home to Baltimore, Maryland, Cooper Hall was on the front page of the Baltimore Sun.”
Royall Mack ’69, Retired Gillette Executive
“I played baseball during the time of the riots and the invasion of the National Guard. The A&T baseball team had won the CIAA championship and I can remember us celebrating our win and then the coaches received the news about campus. Our coaches shielded us and kept us all together in order to protect the team. While we were on the bus, we found out that A&T was being shut down and that graduation was canceled. When we arrived on campus, we parked at Scott Hall and it was complete chaos.”
Clarence Fisher ’69, Retired U.S. Army and from Corporate Banking
“The Civil Rights Movement was in full force during this time and riots were the norm on campus. I can remember walking to band practice and smelling tear gas in the air like it was an ordinary day. When tensions grew high on campus in May 1969, block boys and students started throwing rocks at white passengers on East Market Street. The police set up roadblock on campus and students created their own barricades. It looked like a complete invasion when the National Guard showed up, students went to jail, and gunfire was heard nonstop from different angles.”
Richard Newkirk ’69, Retired Air Force Officer and Educator
“I lived in Scott Hall during my senior year with my brother, Jimmy. We stayed in our dorm when the shooting occurred and we knew we couldn’t leave the building. The lights outside were shot out and all I could hear was gunfire. I spent most of the night on the floor and around midnight tear gas was shot into our room. We crawled out into the hallway and went into the basement until daybreak. I just remember feeling so angry and I wasn’t sure if I was going to live to see the next day. I made the decision to leave campus because I was tired of being shot at.”
During Alumni Reunion Weekend, the class of 1969 will participate in a Brick Dedication Ceremony at the Reflection Pool on campus by Aggie Village (former location of Scott Hall), be inducted into the Society of Golden Aggies for their 50th anniversary and be recognized during the spring commencement.
Written by: Jadarius McCoy, junior, journalism student and Alana V. Allen ’07, Director of Alumni Communications
Sources: F.D. Bluford Library Archives; Greensboro Daily News clippings retrieved from UNCG Walter Clinton Jackson Library.
