Oral History Interview with James Arthur Jones, November 19, 2003. Interview U-0005. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
James A. Jones, former principal of Prospect School in Robeson County, North Carolina, describes how integration affected this largely Native American community. A redistricting controversy in the late 1960s revealed how much Prospect's Native American community valued their educational traditions, and they resented what they saw as attacks on those traditions, whether in the form of redrawn district lines or the enforcement of racial integration. Jones believes that mergers and integration have damaged Prospect School, dissipating its sense of community and poisoning the school with violent racial animosity. Like many older educators, Jones remembers a time of calm, when close ties between students, teachers, and parents strengthened his community. That time, he fears, is long gone.
Excerpts
Close-knit Native American community
Redistricting controversy in Native American schools
Resisting integration
Non-Native American teachers do well at Native American school
Tuscaroras oppose redistricting
Mergers and integration damage Native American school
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Subjects
North Carolina--Race relations--20th century
Robeson County (N.C.)--Race relations
Civil rights--North Carolina
Education--North Carolina--History--20th century
Civil rights movements--North Carolina--History--20th century
Civil rights movements--North Carolina--Robeson County
Education--North Carolina--Robeson County
Indians of North America--North Carolina--Robeson County
Indians of North America--Civil rights--North Carolina--History--20th century
Robeson County (N.C.)--History--20th century
Segregation in education--North Carolina--Robeson County
Schools--North Carolina--Robeson County
School integration--North Carolina--Robeson County
Teachers--North Carolina--Robeson County
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