Faculty Council Meeting Minutes - October 10, 1952

These pages are the Faculty Council Meeting Minutes from Friday, October 10, 1952, featuring “Board of Curators’ Report on the Negro Question” on pages 2-3. 

The petitions to the Board of Curators and the President of Central are mentioned, as well as the application of a potential African American student.

Comments on the situation made by President Ralph Woodward indicate how integration of white and African American people in public spaces was a pressing topic of the time. Additionally, the statements of President Woodward, Dr. Perry, and Dr. Barker all give examples of the attitudes of the time of white people towards African Americans—particularly African Americans who attempted to enter spaces or institutions unofficially considered “white.”

A note on language: In 1952, “Negro” was a polite term to describe a person of African, Black, or African American ancestry, and was occasionally used by those groups of people to describe themselves.  Today, the word “Negro” is considered offensive and is no longer used.  The word “colored” was also commonly used to describe African American people—like “Negro,” it is today considered offensive and is no longer used.