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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with Virginius Dabney, July 31, 1975. Interview A-0311-2. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) See Entire Interview >>

Dabney's views remained the same as the political climate changed

Dabney discusses his political views over his lifetime as a writer. He believes his views remained consistent, but the political climate changed.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Virginius Dabney, July 31, 1975. Interview A-0311-2. 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

WILLIAM H. TURPIN:
Do you think that your views on these issues changed much over a ten year period?
VIRGINIUS DABNEY:
Not very much. I think that my views were pretty largely the same at the time I wrote the two books. It is important to realize that when I wrote both of them, I was not asking for abolition of the segregation system. People who thought that I was so far ahead of things at that time would now think that I was conservative on that issue.
WILLIAM H. TURPIN:
You were just in effect asking for equal facilities, equal treatment, which was considered a very far liberal advanced theory?
VIRGINIUS DABNEY:
I also was asking for abolition of the poll tax, which was objected to very strenuously by the powers that be in Virginia.