Gordon, Janet Harper

Description

Janet Harper Gordon (1942- ) was among the first African-American students to attend Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She obtained her bachelor's (1964) and master's (1973) degrees in history. Gordon recalls her reasons for choosing to attend the institution, acclimating to college life, her determination to succeed and obtaining her graduate degree as a single mother. She discusses influential history department faculty, campus life and traditions, how the school motto of service was demonstrated in her life and the influence of her parents. She describes living in a segregated dormitory, the Greensboro Sit-ins and her feelings about integrating the university. She talks about the Vietnam War (Her husband was killed in the War.), the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassinations of President John Kennedy, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

Record Contributed By

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Record Harvested From

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center