The Desegregation of Land-grant Institutions in the 1950s: The First African American Students at NC State University and Virginia Tech

Abstract

Abstract:This article focuses on the first African American students at two southern land-grant universities, North Carolina State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech). Although these institutions integrated in the 1950s, most of the current desegregation scholarship focuses on other southern institutions in the 1960s. Using both primary and secondary sources, this study examines the integration process during the 1950s at two similar land-grant universities in two adjacent states. Importantly, this study offers a balanced comparison of institutional integration not previously examined. Desegregation at both North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech was a gradual process that was less physically violent compared to other southern institutions.