Volume 80 No. 8
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Integration during 1950’s hits home: First
African American student walks halls again
During a recent trip to
Greensboro, GHS Aiumnus
Doctor Josephine Boyd Bradley
recounts her experience as the
first African American student
to attend and graduate from
Grimsley High School.
By Rachel Rodriguez &
Hannah Wineburg
News Editors
May 17, 1954 marked one of the most
important testimonies to the Civil Rights
movement in the United States, On this
particular spring day, the United States
Supreme Court overturned the Plessy vs.
Ferguson decision, which laid down the
doctrine of “separate but equal” in schools.
The Brown vs. Topeka, Kansas Board
of Education case eliminated all segregation
in schools across the country and enforced
integration for the upcoming fall semester.
The decision hit home in Greensboro,
as Grimsley was among the many
segregated schools of the time period. By
the fall of 1957, Greensboro Senior High
School (as named then) opened its doors,
although with apparent hesitation, to its first
and only African American student.
Dr. Josephine Boyd Bradley decided to
finish her senior year at Greensboro Senior
High instead of graduating from Dudley
High School, where she had spent her first
three years. Through her integrity and
initiative, Bradley took her destiny into
her own hands.
f
Leung Photo
Transferring from Dudley to Grimsley in the fall of 1957, Dr. Josephine Boyd
Bradley paved the way for integration within the Greensboro public school system.
“It was my choice; I had the final say
[regarding the transfer],” she said. “My
parents were worried, of course; so was
I.. .[but] it was supposed to happen that way;
I was supposed to be the first. It was fate.”
Reactions from students and teachers
varied as integration took its course in
Greensboro. Bradley recalled not having
any fond memories of her one-year
experience at Grimsley. She also
mentioned that she never had friends at
Grimsley as close as those she had while
at Dudley.
“Some students were friendly, but overall
I had very limited contact, and most of the
kids just chose not to acknowledge me,”
she said.
“Teachers were up and down; some were
supportive, and some made me want to
disappear,”
After graduating from Grimsley in 1958,
Bradley attended Clark University in
Massachusetts for two years. She then
returned to North Carolina and spent her
final two years of college at North Carolina
Central University in Durham.
As Bradley walked the halls of Grimsley
for the first time in many years, she
discussed the continuing problems of
diversity and racial separation that schools
across the country have continued to
experience into the 21st century,
“Things haven’t changed that much,”
she said, regarding racial gaps between
upper and lower classes. “It’s a system
designed to keep blacks in their place,
even today.”
Bullying, discipline problems become ubiquitous
confiict plaguing school systems throughout country
Educational approaches have
not necessarily changed
regarding students with
disciplinary problems, yet the
administration is attempting to
crack down on those students
continuing to cause problems.
By Brian Gould
StajfWriter
Reports verify that bullying continually
remains a problem in today’s schools.
Bullying has existed as long as schools
have been established. With students of
varying abilities and backgrounds, as well
as society’s competitive edge for popularity,
bullying often occurs. One issue that arises
in today’s world is how such behavior
affects others.
With infamous shootings at Columbine
High School and other educational
institutions across the country, teachers,
parents, and students rightfully worry about
school safety. Many experts believe the
criminal behavior could have been
prevented had adults and peers in close
proximity to the juveniles taken closer
notice to the perpetrators’ behavior.
Ostracizing and taunting other students
profoundly affects them both
psychologically and physiologically.
Drastic circumstances can occur when the
bullying is severe enough and either the
bully or the victim is emotionally unstable.
In some instances, the oppression toward a
child may lead to the victim taking extreme
action as well.
Even when bullying does not result in
physical violence, this unacceptable
behavior still must be controlled.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation
survey, 86% of 12 to 15-year olds admit
bullying takes place regularly at their
schools. Such statistics rank higher than
those ratings regarding smoking, drinking,
or substance abuse.
The American Justice Department’s
study determined one out of four
children is the victim of a bully, yet only
85% of the incidents receive intervention.
However, many students believe that
bullying is not a concern at Grimsley.
“While I know bullying does take place
at Grimsley, I do not think it is a major
problem here. I think it is at other schools,
but for the most part, people here are
accepting of each other,” said sophomore
Molly Betton.
Contiuned on page 2
Featured
Inside
Letter to the Editor Spread of masterpieces
Senior IB Diploma
Candidate refutes
recent elitism article.
Page 3
The art spread illustrates the
work of IB students featured in
gallery exhibits.
Pages 6-7
Women’s LaX team
overlooked
Second-ranked lady’s
lacrosse team longs for
much deserved credit.
Page 11
News........
7
Opinion....
3
Features...
....5
Sports
..11