N.C. A&T Alumni Times

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is world famous for leading educational and social change. A&T students, staff, faculty, and alumni have made their voices known for the betterment of the campus, the Greensboro community, and far beyond for over a century. It would be impossible to chronicle the complete history of protest by Aggies in one article. Instead this writing hopes to share many of the student protests that led up to the momentous 1960 Sit-In Movement. Not only is this history continuing to this day, but when Aggies review our past, we realize that there are many forgotten stories waiting to be retold.

Recent research in archives and digital collections shows that our legacy of student protests begins at least a century ago. In 1911, over 200 students planned a “revolt” against mandatory Saturday courses for industrial students. Even though students with weekend jobs could be excused, this change was still not well received. A miscommunication between students and President James B. Dudley only added to the friction. These students, mostly juniors and seniors, did not attend the morning chapel service and class sessions one Saturday morning in October. As a result, President Dudley threw their bags and trunks to the curb and the incident received national press coverage. After a hearing with Dudley and M.C.S. Noble (Noble Hall) President of the Board of Trustees, most of those students did return to campus, but the senior class was significantly reduced in size. There are probably many more stories from the Dudley era yet to be found by a great Aggie historian.

We begin to see the roots of student protests take hold during the administration of President F. D. Bluford (1925-1955). Meals, quality of campus buildings, and health conditions would be a focus of on-campus student protests for several decades. In fall of 1929, a “Strike Fever” swept several HBCUs nationwide, including A&T, where students were demanding more on campus privileges. The following spring, an unknown number of students walked out of the Murphy Hall cafeteria to protest the quality of campus meals. Their grievances climaxed in a three-day protest of the off-campus student fee of $2.00 dollars (equivalent to $31.00 in 2020).

Another bout of “Strike Fever” hit the campus resulting in the Hunger Strike of 1936. Nearly the entire student body protested food in the dining hall and the conditions of several campus buildings with a four-day walkout. Things escalated when stones were thrown in the campus dining hall at windows during a faculty meal and President Bluford’s car was released down a hill due to brake sabotage. Of the over 500 participants, at least 10 students were expelled or suspended, but all were later reinstated. The students complaints were heard by President Bluford, and five of the students met with Governor J. C. B. Ehringhaus at the executive mansion. Gov. Ehringhaus asked M. C. S. Noble to intervene, and the 81-year-old trustee was successful in reaching an armistice with the students. A faculty committee was formed to investigate the food and buildings and the students resumed classes with improved conditions.

In 1937, an “Emergency Peace Unit of A&T” was organized on campus, (A&T Register, March 1937, pg. 1) and protests were held against the possibility of America being at war. That same year, A&T Aggies joined Bennett College Belles in a protests of movie theatre segregation and scenes with Negro actors being cut from films in Greensboro movie houses. While that boycott was not successful, 1930s Aggies were becoming more involved with city and international affairs, and they were planting the seeds for future movements.

During World War II, majority of A&T students were female for the first time. Tensions with some students about food, campus buildings, and off campus privileges for females (the local Overseas Replacement Depot for male soldiers was near the campus) with the Dean of Women resulted in a spontaneous March 1945 student strike. After the war, Aggies gradually continued to challenge segregation practices in academia. A combination of votes of white students and protests statewide by HBCUs led to the first Negro students being admitted to the statewide North Carolina Students Legislative Council in 1947.

The most famous student protest at A&T, and maybe any college in the state, before the 1960 Sit-Ins was the reaction to the 1955 Founder’s Day Speech by Governor Luther Hodges. Just a year after the Brown vs. Board of Education court ruling, the Governor’s segregationist views were part of his speech to an audience in Harrison Auditorium on November 4. What really set things off was his strong southern drawl, and his mispronunciation of “negro.” While generally said to not have been intentionally offensive, this was met with boos, coughs, foot scraping, and other audible interruptions. Hodges did not react strongly during the speech but left immediately following his address. Bluford rebuked the students and faculty and letters of apology from himself and the student government association sent to Hodges were met with indifference. The campus reaction during the speech showed that post-war students would now protest despite direction from the administration, or then expected forms of decorum. What was expected to have been the culmination of Dr. Bluford’s 30 years as president with the dedication of eight new buildings, including the first Bluford Library (today’s Fort IRC building), turned into a time of sorrow, friction, and silence between him, his students, and faculty. He passed away a little more than a month later at the age of 73.

The Founder’s Day incident and the death of President Bluford reflected an end of era for the A&T College. Under Drs. Dudley and Bluford, the college had grown tremendously in size and academia, and at the same time HBCUs were changing in other ways. A new generation of Aggies were arriving who were familiar with all the many protests in Greensboro and their hometowns. The children of World War I & II veterans, they would come to A&T with lessons and examples about race, freedom and protests from their Aggie ancestors and new national figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. They also grew up with Brown vs Board, the Little Rock Nine, and Josephine Boyd. From these and many more examples, a more assertive, non-violent, form of protest off campus would be their practice in the coming Sit-In movement.

The F. D. Bluford Library Archives and Special Collections acquires, preserves, and organizes histories of student protests, activism, and public life every day. The stories in this article come from our rare books, newspaper accounts, oral histories, interviews, and dissertations. For more Aggie History online please visit our digital collections, Sit-In Movement LibGuide, Archives & Special Collections LibGuide , and Archives Home Page. If you have questions or more information about this article, or any topic in A&T History, contact us at libraryarchives@ncat.edu.