Title: Oral History Interview with James Arthur Jones, November 19, 2003. Interview U-0005.
Identifier: U-0005
Interviewer: Maynor, Malinda
Interviewee: Jones, James Arthur
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
Extent: 00:00:01
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.