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William Hamlin oral history excerpt
About this recording
From oral history interview with William Hamlin, May 29, 1998. Interview K-0169. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
- Date created
- May 29, 1998
- Duration
- 2:34
- File MP3
- License
- This recording copyright ©2004. All Rights Reserved
- Source
- Original audio housed by Documenting the American South / UNC Libraries
See this recording in context
- A record of school desegregation: Conduct your own oral history project: In this unit for grade 8, students will research the history of school desegregation, and will use their knowledge to conduct oral history interviews with community members. Students will reflect on the experience through writing.
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- Search LEARN NC for Charlotte, history, North Carolina, oral histories, race relations, and segregation.
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William Hamlin attended segregated schools in Charlotte, NC in the 1950s and 1960s, but later sent his children to integrated schools. Here, he explains his opinions about integrated schools, and why tolerance of others may be more important than legal desegregation.
Transcript
- William Hamlin
- I think there was a false sense of hope and achievement that integration could bring. I think that it served as a good vehicle and the best vehicle for bringing the races together. So, I think it really served that purpose. But, a segregated mentality is so engrained in our society, the American society and the world in general, that I don’t think that we’re ever going to be fully integrated and maybe we shouldn’t. I think the respect of another’s beliefs, another’s culture background and the acceptance of people, in general, may be more important than integration. Obviously, we are going to have a multi-cultural society somewhere in the future. But, if you look at history there are cultures of people that have never integrated themselves. Cultures of people who share the same skin color who never integrated. Persons who share the same kind of religious beliefs who have never been integrated. So, I think “full” integration, I don’t think that’s ever going to occur. I think that the most important thing is that we respect another’s culture, belief, and them, in general, as an individual, respecting the difference from us is way more important.
