Oral history interview with Linner Ward Griffin, 2014

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, today is Monday, February 17, 2014, and my name is Hermann Trojanowski, and I'm with Dr. Linner Ward Griffin, Class of 1964.

Segment Synopsis: Interview introduction.

Partial Transcript: HT: If you will tell me something ab out your background, about when and where you were born, we'll get started on this interview.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her background, including her parents and sister.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, what was it like growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in Charlotte?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes changes in Charlotte in the 1950s and 1960s, including memories of the attempted integration of Harding High School.

Partial Transcript: HT: And where did you go to high school?

LG: My high school was West Charlotte Senior High

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes West Charlotte Senior High School, including memories of Stephen St. John, a white Creole student, and her favorite subjects.

Partial Transcript: HT: So did you plan to go to college after high school?

LG: Always, yes.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes what influenced her to go to college, and to choose Woman's College, including good test results an a helpful teacher.

Partial Transcript: HT: So were you friends with the Withers sisters in Charlotte?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes some of her classmates and friends at Woman's College including Elizabeth and Clara Withers, and her roommate Diane Oliver.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, tell me about your transition from high school into college. What was that like?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her experience transitioning from high school to college, including learning to get to know people and following her schedule.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, what do you remember about your first day on campus? Had you been on campus before?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes coming to campus on the first day and moving into the dorm in Coit Hall..

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, tell me about some of the other African American students. You said there were a total of seven.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin continues to describe her classmates, including Janet Gordon, Marian McClure, Francine McAdoo, Sandra Byrd and Madeline Russell.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, what do you remember about your classes?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes some of her experiences in classes at UNCG, including improving her grammar in an English class, and the decision to switch from a Math to a History major.

Partial Transcript: HT: Do you recall any of the history faculty?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her memories of the History faculty at Woman's College, including Jordan Kurland, Josephine Hege, Otis Singletary, James Ferguson, and Richard Bardolph.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, let's talk a little bit about dorm life and campus life and that sort of thing. You sort of alluded to it a little bit. What was it like, living on campus at that time?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin discusses living on campus, including crowded dorms and learning how to adapt to a college atmosphere.

Partial Transcript: HT: Speaking of that, did you ever feel like there was overt discrimination against you or any other African American students that you saw?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes the discrimination she felt during Rat Day.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, since we're talking about traditions, you mentioned Rat Day and Jacket Day. Now you got your jacket during your-

LG: Junior Year

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her memories of some campus traditions, including her class jacket, the Daisy Chain, and the Junior show.

Partial Transcript: HT: It just shows all the various extracurricular activities you were involved in.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes some of her extracurricular activites, including being involed with the Spanish Club, the History Club, the Sociology Club, the Baptist Student Union, the History and Political Science Club, The National Education Association, and the Young Democrats Committee.

Partial Transcript: LG: So when I finished the master's and went on for the doctorate which came from the University of Houston, I taught social work, and my teaching of social work at West Virginia University;...

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her career in social work and education after her graduation from Woman's College and Chapel Hill.

Partial Transcript: HT: That's very important, isn't it? Well, we've already talked about your roommates. What about the resident hall and the dining hall? What are your memories of those in general?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her experience with the Woman's College dining hall and food.

Partial Transcript: LG: So, I'm trying to-. You asked about food and you asked about dorm life.

HT: Right, dorm life. Rules and regulations and that sort of thing.

Segment Synopsis: Griffen describes her memories of living in the dorms, including dorm meetings, learning the sister song and the alma mater, wondering about the segregation in the dorms, and receiving an RA's room.

Partial Transcript: HT: Did you make friends with some of the other white students?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her friendship with Betsy Allen Carrier, one of her white classmates.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, you got here in the fall of '60. Is that correct? So the Greensboro Sit-ins had just taken place that spring in February of 1960s.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her memories of the Civil Rights movement in Greensboro, including the Tate Street Protests.

Partial Transcript: HT: You mentioned being away for the summer. What did you do during the summer? Did you work or-

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes working in West Charlotte High School after graduating, and discusses her experiences working at the school she had attended four years before.

Partial Transcript: HT: Where did you do your student teaching while you were here?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her memories of political tensions in the 1960s, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the election and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, the next thing I was going to ask you about was about the administrators and professors. You've already talked a bit about some of the professors on campus and the chancellors.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her memories and interactions with the administration and professors during her time at Woman's College. She recalls Dr. Singletary,Dr. Ferguson, Mereb Mossman, Dr. Laura Anderton, Katherine Taylor, Barbara Parrish, Frank Laine, and Kurland.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, what do you want people to know about your time at Woman's College and UNCG? How it affected your life in the long-term.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes how she grew as a woman by attending Woman's College, and the stress she experienced at Woman's College.

Partial Transcript: LG: I've had to ask myself when Woman's College became UNCG about the impact of males, and what would that mean in this college, this university.

Segment Synopsis: Trojanowski and Griffin discuss Woman's College becoming the co-educational UNCG, and men being allowed on campus.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, how have you been involved with the college and university since you graduated in 1964?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her career in social services, getting her doctorate in Houston, and having two children.

Partial Transcript: HT: If I can backtrack for just a second to A&T and social life and that sort of thing. What kind of social life did you have on campus?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her social life while at Woman's College, including playing Bid Whist and Pinochle, and attending social events such as dances at A&T.

Partial Transcript: LG: As I said, my very first incident of integration was the whole Dorothy Counts situation. And she had lived like four blocks from us, so she was- and had been one of my classmates- so I knew the worst.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin describes her experiences with integration in Charlotte and Greensboro. Griffin also describes her memories of discrimination on campus.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, what impact did the university have on your life? I think we have covered that just a little bit.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin continues to describe the affect that attending Woman's College had on her life after graduation.

Partial Transcript: HT: It sounds like you've done a variety of jobs since you graduated from here.

Segment Synopsis: Griffin continues to describe her life and career after graduation, including her career as a social worker and educator, and her husbands work in industry.

Partial Transcript: HT: It sounds great. Well, I don't have any more formal questions. Do you have anything else you'd like to add?

Segment Synopsis: Griffin briefly discusses her thoughts on UNCG.

Partial Transcript: HT: Well, thank you so much. It's been a joy meeting you after many attempts over the years.

Segment Synopsis: Interview conclusion.