Encyclopedia of UNCG History
An online resource for exploring the history of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
African Americans
Neo-Black Society
The Neo-Black Society (NBS) is a student organization founded in the fall of 1968 with the stated missions of increasing awareness of Black culture, promoting equality on campus, and as a service organization supporting the greater Greensboro community. NBS continues in these missions today. The organization was founded by then student Ada Fisher, along with […]
African American and African Diaspora Studies Program
In August 2014, the African American Studies Program‘s name was changed to African American and African Diaspora Studies to reflect a broader curriculum. African American and African Diaspora Studies Program Directors: Tara Green (2014- )
African American Studies Program
In 1992-1993, the Black Studies Program officially changed its name to the African American Studies Program. In recent years, the department has continued to grow. On February 8, 2002, the Board of Governors approved UNCG’s request for authorization to establish a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies. And in Fall 2009, the Program […]
Black Studies Program
In 1969, UNCG’s History Department proposed the first course in African American history to be taught by Richard Bardolph, a white faculty member who had published in the field. Students, however, insisted that the course must be taught by an African American instructor. For one experimental year in 1970, Bardolph traded courses with his colleague […]
Food Service Workers’ Strike (1969)
Cafeteria food service on campus was first introduced in the 1950s, but dissatisfaction soon mounted as growing enrollments brought longer lines and complaints about the choices and quality of the food offered. In 1964, the Carolinian student newspaper ran a comparative analysis of the food services offered at UNCG, Chapel Hill, and N.C. State, finding […]
Black Power Forum
On November 1-3, 1967, UNCG played host to a controversial Black Power Forum, organized in large part by the Student Government Association to “inform students and faculty members of this movement and its actions and to give us a chance to discuss Black Power, its history, its political and social implications for us and the […]
Ezekiel Robinson (d. 1960)
When the doors opened at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) on October 5, 1892, president Charles Duncan McIver had 15 well-qualified faculty members and nearly 200 young female students. While cooks, janitors, handymen, and others worked behind the scenes to keep the school running, McIver felt that he needed a single individual […]
Dr. Yvonne Cheek (Class of 1967)
As an undergraduate student at UNCG, Dr. Cheek actively served as the vice-president of the Alpha Xi chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon in addition to being the music editor for the Carolinian. She was also a member of the Outing Club and a university marshal. Dr. Cheek was also the first African American student to complete […]
Ralph Wilkerson
Ralph Wilkerson was the first African American (male or female) elected as Student Government Association president (1978-1979). Entry by Lucy Mason, summer 2015 intern
Odessa Patrick
Odessa Patrick received her B.S. in Biology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1956. In 1969, she received her M.A. in Biology from UNCG. In 1958, she was hired as a lab technician at Woman’s College. In her position as lab technician, Patrick was the first African American academic staff member at Woman’s […]