Randolph, Elizabeth S.

Greeson, Jennifer

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

1993-06-16

1 audio file (2:17:58) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (36 pages : PDF)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Elizabeth Schmoke Randolph was a 76-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Pitt County, North Carolina in 1917. She graduated from Shaw University in 1936, completed her master's degree at the University of Michigan and earned administrative credentials from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was employed as a teacher throughout North Carolina, was principal at University Park Elementary in Charlotte for nine years, and retired as an associate superintendent in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

In this first interview with Jennifer Greeson for the Levine Museum, Elizabeth Randolph describes growing up during the 1920s and 1930s in a family that emphasized education which inspired her dedication as an educator throughout her life in such roles as a teacher, principal, and an associate superintendent. She details her experiences in these different occupations in both segregated and desegregated schools and explains how public education has evolved throughout her career. Other topics discussed included her decision to move to Charlotte, North Carolina in order to teach at West Charlotte High School; her connection to Dorothy Counts, Reginald Hawkins, and others involved in the Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Supreme Court case; community efforts to enforce desegregation; her personal encounters with racism; and life during the Great Depression.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on analog audio cassette and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.

School superintendents
School principals
Teachers

Randolph, Elizabeth S.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

African American elementary schools
African Americans--Segregation
Education
Racism in education
School integration
Segregation
Segregation in education
Busing for school integration
Manners and customs
Depressions

North Carolina--Raleigh
North Carolina--Rutherford County
North Carolina--Charlotte

Interviews
Oral histories

1920-2000

Levine Museum of the New South

Professional Women

Elizabeth Randolph oral history interview 2, 1993 July 13, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Elizabeth Randolph oral history interview 3, 1996 August 21, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Elizabeth Randolph oral history interview 4, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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audio/mpeg

MU-RA00487