Oral History Interview with John and Betsy Taylor by William Chafe
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@ University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Taylor, John R
Description
This transcript of a July 7, 1973, oral history interview conducted by William Chafe with John and Betsy Taylor primarily documents Mrs. Taylors' work with the YWCA and Mr. Taylor's work with the Greensboro Community Fellowship during the 1960s.Betsy Taylor recalls her early interracial experiences in Greensboro and particularly the importance of the YWCA as promoter of integration. Topics include the controversy over the Y hiring of a black secretary, pushing for integration of the executive board and committees, forging relationship with the traditionally black Susie B. Dudley YWCA, and the YWCA resisting Caesar Cone's effort to merge them with the YMCA. Mrs. Taylor also discusses circulating pro-desegregation petitions in the newspaper and at local churches, inviting black and white children to get together before the Greensboro schools were to be integrated, the slow speed at which Greensboro schools desegregated, and speaking with the president of Woolworth's in New York upon McNeill Smith's request. John Taylor recalls the formation of the Greensboro Community Fellowship and its work for business desegregation, the integration of a motel he operated, his image as a radical in the white community, his frustration with conservative views and leadership at First Presbyterian Church, being rebuffed by Boyd Morris at the Mayfair Cafeteria, and harassment from black radicals over integrated properties the Taylors owned.Other topics include black separatism and antagonism from black activists, the generation gap, the roles of A&T and UNCG in the movement, especially Warren Ashby, the positions of churches in Greensboro, the role and...
Text
Interviews
Chafe, William H., 1942
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke UniversityIN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse.
