Claudius Claiborne

[wumhenry]

What are you referring to, DBR, in saying that CC "was never fully accepted"? Do you think you're stating a self-evident truth or something that's a matter of common knowledge? I was there at the same time as Claiborne, and I have no idea what you're talking about. No doubt he, as the first AA admitted to Duke and the only one in his class, felt awkward and isolated at times, perhaps even most of the time, but if students, teachers, or administrators discriminated against him because of his racial identity it's news to me.

The insinuation that Claiborne was not "idolized" like Brand, Battier, and JWill because the student body was racially prejudiced is rubbish! The simple, mundane fact of the matter is that Claiborne was a bench-warmer throughout his BB career at Duke, unlike those others you mention, who were stars.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

What are you referring to, DBR, in saying that CC "was never fully accepted"? Do you think you're stating a self-evident truth or something that's a matter of common knowledge? I was there at the same time as Claiborne, and I have no idea what you're talking about. No doubt he, as the first AA admitted to Duke and the only one in his class, felt awkward and isolated at times, perhaps even most of the time, but if students, teachers, or administrators discriminated against him because of his racial identity it's news to me.

The insinuation that Claiborne was not "idolized" like Brand, Battier, and JWill because the student body was racially prejudiced is rubbish! The simple, mundane fact of the matter is that Claiborne was a bench-warmer throughout his BB career at Duke, unlike those others you mention, who were stars.

I was enrolled at Duke during that same period of time. My undergraduate class included the first Afro Americans admitted to Duke. The students I knew and situations I experienced or observed on campus were nothing like the descriptions I read on this site today. As for the incident in the first math class, I experienced the same sort of difficulty in several classes freshman year. Many class members from other states had used the same textbooks in high school, so the content and approach in the classes skipped over whatever was included in those texts. I came from a school system in NC where we didn't have those texts nor were language labs part of the program for foreign languages. It was a very difficult and challenging transition!

In looking at the big picture, I would also point out that generally speaking there were very limited seats available for women in top flight colleges at that time. Many top colleges and universities didn't even admit women. The classes who were admitted each year to the Woman's College at Duke were much smaller than those admitted to either Trinity or the Engineering School at that time. On East Campus the gap between the "advantaged" students from wealthier districts and those from less advantaged districts was stark.

What is the point of this? I didn't witness or hear about any incidents among the students like those in the article about C. B. Everyone I knew was accepting of the Afro American students. I didn't travel with the team to know about what happened on the road. Some of what is described reminds me of another article mentioned on this site a while back.... I think it was a Sports Illustrated article which was about the Duke - UCLA games in the sixties...left the impression that John Wooden and UCLA had a bad experience because of treatment related to racial prejudice.

Duke students who came from less advantaged school districts had some of the same experiences in class as did C. B. At that time Duke was not focusing on what is now called retention related to admissions. (I understand that at the annual first freshman class assembly for Trinity College the guys were told to look at the guy on their left and at the guy on the right. At least one of them would not be back for sophomore year.)

[AtlDuke72]

The students I knew and situations I experienced or observed on campus were nothing like the descriptions I read on this site today.

I was a freshman when Claiborne was a senior.and I agree with this statement. Maybe we all had our heads in the sand, but I recall nothing but acceptance and support of the African American students and athletes. My class had Earnie Johnson and other AA football players. Donnie Blackman was the star of the freshman basketball team.

I remember that C.B. was a pretty good player on a team that had no stars. The Devils were middle of the pack, but almost won the ACC tournament. Charlie Scott went crazy in the last 10 minutes of the championship game and beat us. I am very happy to hear how successful Claiborne has been and also that he is being honored this weekend.

[wumhenry]

I remember that C.B. was a pretty good player on a team that had no stars. The Devils were middle of the pack, but almost won the ACC tournament. Charlie Scott went crazy in the last 10 minutes of the championship game and beat us. I am very happy to hear how successful Claiborne has been and also that he is being honored this weekend.
When I said he was a benchwarmer throughout his Duke BB career, I mistakenly thought that he (like me) was a member of the Class of '68 and thus that the 67/68 season was his last. Let me amend the statement: he was a benchwarmer during his first two seasons on the varsity, i.e., in his sophomore and junior years, but contributed significantly in his senior year. Six ppg in a lacklustre season hardly amounts to stardom, though, so my original point stands: there's a perfectly innocuous explanation for the lower level of fan appreciation for CC, as opposed to standouts like Battier and Brand.

[dkbaseball]

The students I knew and situations I experienced or observed on campus were nothing like the descriptions I read on this site today.

I was a freshman when Claiborne was a senior.and I agree with this statement. Maybe we all had our heads in the sand, but I recall nothing but acceptance and support of the African American students and athletes. My class had Earnie Johnson and other AA football players. Donnie Blackman was the star of the freshman basketball team.

I remember that C.B. was a pretty good player on a team that had no stars. The Devils were middle of the pack, but almost won the ACC tournament. Charlie Scott went crazy in the last 10 minutes of the championship game and beat us. I am very happy to hear how successful Claiborne has been and also that he is being honored this weekend.

Ditto from the same class (also the class of Barry Jacobs and Jim Sumner). Just didn't get any sense of racial separation at all. I believe C.C. was in ZBT (could be wrong). Minor correction -- it's Ernie Jackson (who had a pretty long NFL career).

[wisteria]

All these information are interesting.
Being a young international student, I just assumed "never fully accepted" meant severe racial discrimination at the time. It's good to be able to hear different voices.

[-jk]

I would submit that Julio was referring to Jacob's book, where Claiborne described a life (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=23693) rather less than warmly embraced at Duke.


Duke readers will likely turn to the story of C.B. Claiborne first. It wasn’t Duke’s finest hour in many respects. Claiborne never felt at home at Duke and ended up spending a lot of time at Central, even getting a meal card there. He wasn’t entirely accepted by his teammates, and wasn’t even told about the basketball banquet, which was held at Hope Valley Country Club, then segregated. Vic Bubas, who was so far ahead of the curve in so many ways, said he didn’t realize this had hurt Claiborne.

We can all reflect on a different era, with different experiences. But only Claiborne experienced his own. It doesn't sound like it was much fun.

-jk

[dkbaseball]

Just to clarify, I don't doubt that Barry has accurately reported C.C.'s experience at Duke as C.C. perceived it. I'm sure it was no fun. But just from the perspective of someone coming into Duke C.C.'s senior year, there was no palpable racial hostility at Duke.

I think the racial climate was changing quite rapidly in the late '60s. In the spring of C.C.'s senior year the Phi Kaps -- a southern-oriented fraternity that had five members of the basketball team at the time -- held elections for fraternity offices the next year. Running for rush chairman was a gentleman from Georgia with the same name as one of the country's eminent founding fathers. He stood up there and said he intended to rush African-Americans if he was elected, and would not compromise on the matter. He won in a landslide, and the next year the third and fourth African-Americans to play football at Duke joined the fraternity. And things were very, very different right after C.C. left.

[Stray Gator]

I would submit that Julio was referring to Jacob's book, where Claiborne described a life (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=23693) rather less than warmly embraced at Duke.



We can all reflect on a different era, with different experiences. But only Claiborne experienced his own. It doesn't sound like it was much fun.

-jk

I was acquainted with Claude while we were both at Duke, mainly through my roommate who was his fraternity brother in ZBT. My interaction with him was limited to just around campus, in socially friendly situations where I never perceived that he was uncomfortable. But I don't doubt that he encountered "cold shoulders" and more overt forms of discrimination in other contexts. The late 60s was a time of dramatic and often difficult and sometimes awkward transitions in attitudes towards a number of long-entrenched beliefs--about war, about the credibility of our government, about racial and gender inequality, to name a few. I'm sure that there were many of us who, despite genuinely good intentions, were not as sensitive as we should have been to the potentially offensive implications of some things we said or did. By the same token, I suspect that Claude and other African-American students then at Duke fully expected to experience discriminatory treatment; and they must have been particularly frustrated that even those of us who wanted to cultivate their friendship and make them feel a part of the group sometimes "tried too hard," which only underscored the fact that we were conscious of our "differences." Still, I'm saddened to hear that Claude's experience at Duke was so unpleasant, and I hope that this event honoring him may help to make him feel more welcome now than he felt 40 years ago.

[weezie]

It would have been nice to read that Mr. Claiborne and the other honorees are pleased with the imminent recognition. I hope they can enjoy the cheering and that it takes away some of the sting of old painful memories.

Chuck Daly is a great guy. I wish he was going to be there, too.

[wumhenry]

"As difficult a time as Claiborne had, a lot of what happened at Duke (not all though) was relatively passive racism.
. . . .
"As far as Duke goes, after you read Claiborne’s account, it’s clear, to us anyway, that the university let him down in a big way, and moreover, that the school has never really addressed what happened.
. . . .

"We would really hope Duke would make a serious effort to go back and right this wrong. In some meaningful way, Claiborne should be, as much as possible at this late date, made whole and if it is possible, he should be brought back into the Duke family. How? We don’t know. His jersey being honored? A Claiborne scholarship? A public mea culpa, preferably in Cameron, would be a good start."

As someone whose stay at Duke was coterminous with Claiborne's for three years, I would like to know what sort of acts or omissions by Duke students, faculty, or administrators Claiborne perceived as passive racism and why he, or the author of the words quoted above, thinks that the university let him down in a big way.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I have thoughtfully read the information about those selected for being honored at halftime tomorrow. Among the former football players being honored are the first Afro Americans who were walk ons and the first who was a scholarship player. The first Afro American walk on basketball player is being honored. It seems remiss that our first Afro American scholarship basketball player is not included for this ceremony. Gene Banks was for Bill Foster's building of the program what Art Heyman was for Vic Bubas. In addition, Gene was one of the best basketball players in Duke sports history. (Among other factoids about his basketball achievements, please note that he was the second Duke player to record a triple double. Art Heyman was the first.)

[dkbaseball]

I have thoughtfully read the information about those selected for being honored at halftime tomorrow. Among the former football players being honored are the first Afro Americans who were walk ons and the first who was a scholarship player. The first Afro American walk on basketball player is being honored. It seems remiss that our first Afro American scholarship basketball player is not included for this ceremony. Gene Banks was for Bill Foster's building of the program what Art Heyman was for Vic Bubas. In addition, Gene was one of the best basketball players in Duke sports history. (Among other factoids about his basketball achievements, please note that he was the second Duke player to record a triple double. Art Heyman was the first.)

But Don Blackman and Willie Hodge got scholarships to Duke before Gene did. Our first African-American scholarship player transferred out.

[Steve68]

I am glad to see people responding to this thread. I was also there when C.B. Claiborne played on the team and I didn't remember the situation being quite the way Barry Jacobs described it. I thought that maybe the years had clouded my memory, but apparently, others remember things the same way I do. Of course, none of us lived through C.B.'s personal experiences, but the overall environment was much like the others have desribed earlier in the thread. I will also point out that there were very few Jewish students at Duke during that era and many felt some of the same "non-acceptance" that C.B. refers to. Although he was certainly idolized by the fans on the court because he was a star player, Art Heyman was also not welcome at Hope Valley. I wonder how he would describe discrimination during his days at Duke.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

But Don Blackman and Willie Hodge got scholarships to Duke before Gene did. Our first African-American scholarship player transferred out.
Sorry I didn't express my thoughts clearly. I was thinking was that Gene's outstanding performance as a scholarship player in basketball was comparable to Ernie Jackson's performance in football. Since the ceremony is taking place during a basketball game, I guess I thought it appropriate to honor more than one basketball player.

[bqkdevil]

Reading this thread has been quite interesting to me. I was a product of schools in the rural South before integration and had never been to school with a black person until I got to Duke in the fall of 1967. Many of my friends had the same experiences. I suspect that many of the black students of my class had never been to school with a white person. I certainly don't consider myself racist now or then but I think the differences in these new relationships had to be apparent. Since there were many more people like me than my black classmates I can understand how they might have felt excluded and perhaps even discriminated against. It's an interesting comparison to consider the advances we've achieved in 40 years in race relations though it will probably take another couple of generations to really say that recism no longer exists.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

But Don Blackman and Willie Hodge got scholarships to Duke before Gene did. Our first African-American scholarship player transferred out.

Willie Hodge was in my class (freshman fall of 1972, graduated 1976). I remember people saying Hodge was the first "name recruit" black player at Duke. He had all the potential in the world, but never quite realized the results we all hoped for.

Edgar Burch came in the next year along Tate Armstrong. Burch was a good point guard, but he flunked out, first semester I think. He never came back. And then the next year there was George Moses, a JC transfer. Talented player, he also flunked out but came back the next year, which surprised many people, but he was a major player for us and did graduate (I think).

Duke was last in the ACC most years while I was in school. That's what makes the last 23 years so sweet! And why I love beating carolina so much!

[jdscrilla]

What a surprise that a bunch of white guys didn't see any racism going on. Of course there was racism when Claiborne was at Duke. We're talking about the late 60's in the south. Unless you walked in the man's shoes, I'd take his word for it...whether you remember the racism or not. Let's honor this man for breaking down barriers and helping pave the way for many others.

[ricks68]

I, too, was the class of '68. Being Jewish, I also experienced some discrimination, as there were very few Jewish students in my class. I think there were only 4 women and 12 men. I met a number of students that had never even met a Jewish person before. One, in particular, from Tennessee, just kept staring at me for a while when I told him I was Jewish. I asked him what he was staring at, and he said that he was looking for the stubs of my horns, and expected me to have cloven feet. It really happened. It made for some interesting future discussions.

The Zebe's took CB in, as there were still many frats that had national guidelines that prevented Jews or African Americans to become members. ZBT was never one of them.

I also had never actually heard the "N" word before coming to Duke, but while it was not unusual to hear it spoken by male students from the South, it was not predominant.

I always watched how far our discussions would go when talking about religion or ethnicity, as there were some students that had some ingrained negative beliefs about others that were different from themselves, and I was concerned about possible personal negative repurcussions. It never happened, however, and I never experienced any name calling or overt anti-semitism. While there was definite historical anti-semitism, such as the frat clauses, it was obvious that this was changing for the better---and that it was coming very fast.

Overall, however, my experiences were very positive while at Duke, but I was very aware of my differences with the mainstream. In fact, there was tremendous overall support by the general student body for integration and civil rights legislation. Remember, this is the time of the Student Vigil after the MLK assassination. I remember many demonstrations by the students in support of better wages for the university workers, sit-ins, and the take-over of Allen Buiilding. I was there for the riot including the burning of a police car on campus, and the pepper fogging of the Chapel.

If you never experienced signs for "colored" or "white only", or never watched people go to sit in the back of the bus because they weren't allowed to sit anywhere else, you can only imagine what it must have been like.

As a minority, I experienced some of it. While I still resent what was, and still is, I experienced first hand the swift changes that were taking place all around me. Duke students were right at the forefront of the fight for civil rights and racial injustice.

I can relate to CB's feelings of "not fitting in" as I was also a part of a very small minority. But, to be fair to all involved, I am sure that the mainstream felt pretty strange around us at times, as evidenced by my experiences.

I also was cognizant of the "other side of the question", such as the resistance to the demands by the very small African American student body for a full slate of department courses involving culture, philosophy, literature, etc. of the African American community during the Allen Building takeover.
Upon reflection, however, I believe the Duke administration was a facilitator for change.

I don't know what others expected from the administation, CB included, but every year it got better for me, and for the African American students, as best I could tell.

ricks

[wumhenry]

What a surprise that a bunch of white guys didn't see any racism going on. Of course there was racism when Claiborne was at Duke. We're talking about the late 60's in the south. Unless you walked in the man's shoes, I'd take his word for it...whether you remember the racism or not.
I was there, and I never witnessed or heard of any racial discrimination against black students by people associated with Duke. I'm not saying that there wasn't any, but your certitude annoys me.

[ricks68]

What a surprise that a bunch of white guys didn't see any racism going on. Of course there was racism when Claiborne was at Duke. We're talking about the late 60's in the south. Unless you walked in the man's shoes, I'd take his word for it...whether you remember the racism or not. Let's honor this man for breaking down barriers and helping pave the way for many others.

Annoys me, too. Especially on a first post ever to the board.

ricks

[jdscrilla]

Sorry to annoy you with my first ever post. I was just annoyed that instead of honoring his bravery and what he meant historically, you guys came out and basically said the racism and unacceptance he felt didn't really exist.

At least the team turned things around today with a win! Hopefully they can get their swagger back heading into March.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Sorry to annoy you with my first ever post. I was just annoyed that instead of honoring his bravery and what he meant historically, you guys came out and basically said the racism and unacceptance he felt didn't really exist.

At least the team turned things around today with a win! Hopefully they can get their swagger back heading into March.

It's important to focus on what people actually say rather than than you think they meant. Writing on a web site like this lacks some of the important elements of communication which convey meaning, namely voice inflection and facial expression or body language.

Those of us who were at Duke when there were many changes in society taking across the country were often part of the vanguard advocating change. Our efforts were imperfect, but we did the best we could at the time.

I think what most of us tried to do was describe the day to day social climate as we knew it on campus.

I must observe that your comment stereotypes all the people in an entire region of the country based on your perception of what they must be like. My first thought was to respond by saying to you: Why Mr. Rhett, whatevuh made you think I might be a man?

[sagegrouse]

I understand that at the annual first freshman class assembly for Trinity College the guys were told to look at the guy on their left and at the guy on the right. At least one of them would not be back for sophomore year.

Here's the exact quote, seared in my memory:

"Look to the right of you. Look to the left of you. If both of these men are here in four years, you won't be."

Alan K. Manchester, Dean of Trinity College, October or November 1960, commenting on a graduation rate for men of between 60 and 70 percent.

BTW, this fact and/or policy was ridiculous for a major university with the kind of students Duke had then. (And no, we weren't really that stupid.)

[ricks68]

As I believe it was said to us during our first freshman orientation assembly for the class of '68: "On your left is a valedictorian, on your right is a salutatorian (sp?), one of you will not be here next year." Or, something to that effect. From what I understand, that general speech has been repeated at many schools for many years. It's not like we invented it. It's not like "air ball, air ball, air ball, etc." that I think we did make up.

ricks

[Jim3k]

Here's the exact quote, seared in my memory:

"Look to the right of you. Look to the left of you. If both of these men are here in four years, you won't be."

Alan K. Manchester, Dean of Trinity College, October or November 1960, commenting on a graduation rate for men of between 60 and 70 percent.

BTW, this fact and/or policy was ridiculous for a major university with the kind of students Duke had then. (And no, we weren't really that stupid.)

Plus, as Sage and I were in the same class, when we graduated, the guys on our right and left *WERE STILL THERE!*. Though in my case, it was a matter of luck. :D

[ricks68]

I was lucky, too. Since I was way down the line from being a valedictorian, it just goes to show you that being on top in high school didn't necessarily guarantee a Duke diploma back then. Although, it did take me 5 years to graduate, and I did have to come back for summer school after my freshman year ranking put me below the cut off.

ricks

[AtlDuke72]

Ditto from the same class (also the class of Barry Jacobs and Jim Sumner). Just didn't get any sense of racial separation at all. I believe C.C. was in ZBT (could be wrong). Minor correction -- it's Ernie Jackson (who had a pretty long NFL career).

I distinctly remember a class by freshman year when the teacher aske him how to spell his first name and he said Earnie but it was often spelled Ernie. He was a great player at Duke. Primarily a defensive back, but they used him on offense also.

[AtlDuke72]

I, too, was the class of '68. Being Jewish, I also experienced some discrimination, as there were very few Jewish students in my class. I think there were only 4 women and 12 men.

I was surprised by this. I was in the class of '72 and a lot of my friends were Jewish. At least 10% of the house I lived in as a frosh was Jewish. If you are correct, and I have no reason to doubt you, it shows that the rapid changes that were being made during those years.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I, too, was the class of '68. Being Jewish, I also experienced some discrimination, as there were very few Jewish students in my class. I think there were only 4 women and 12 men.

I was surprised by this. I was in the class of '72 and a lot of my friends were Jewish. At least 10% of the house I lived in as a frosh was Jewish. If you are correct, and I have no reason to doubt you, it shows that the rapid changes that were being made during those years.


The phrase set in bold is a major characteristic of that period of time in society and certainly at Duke. It's sometimes difficult to explain to those who came long afterwards just how much was changing and how rapidly the changes came.

For many years Duke was on the cutting edge of social change ... for example, early admissions of women when other schools were not doing so. The Giles sisters were admitted but in order to attend classes with men had to sit behind a curtain drawn across the classroom. When Duke began to develop a college for women, Alice Baldwin was hired as a professor who later became the first dean of the Woman's College. Her influence helped mold a college environment which supported women and reflected their needs. She was also responsible for the college having rules which gave the women students more freedom and self determination than was usually accorded women in other colleges. While I was enrolled in the Woman's College during the sixties, the rules under which the students of the Woman's College lived were far less restrictive than those experienced by women at other colleges of the time.

I am disappointed that the more recent history of Duke in dealing with a variety of issues reflects an institution which is not a leader in social change but rather one headed in the direction of policy based on following the lead of other colleges and universities.

[dkbaseball]

I distinctly remember a class by freshman year when the teacher aske him how to spell his first name and he said Earnie but it was often spelled Ernie. He was a great player at Duke. Primarily a defensive back, but they used him on offense also.

I was just correcting the last name -- Jackson, not Johnson. EJ could fly -- a sub-10 100, I believe. No taller than 5-10, but he played corner for many years in the NFL. Duke's first African-American NFL player.

My freshman house in '68 was also at least 10 percent Jewish, which apparently represented a substantial change from just a few years earlier.

[fogey]

Amen to that. I entered DU in the fall of '66 and do not recall witnessing ANY racial discrimination; if anything, I recall white students from time to time trying a bit too hard to impress or "try too hard" to ingratiate themselves with black students. I lived in an one of the (then) "new" independant dorms, and there were not only a significant Jewish population in our class, our dorm enjoyed a healthy and diverse population, with Jewish students as well as blacks. everyone got along fine. Revisionist history may feel great for the self proclaimed "victims" but it is just not fair to the vast majority of DU students at that time to be painted with such a broad and nasty brush.

[Stray Gator]

Amen to that. I entered DU in the fall of '66 and do not recall witnessing ANY racial discrimination; if anything, I recall white students from time to time trying a bit too hard to impress or "try too hard" to ingratiate themselves with black students. I lived in an one of the (then) "new" independant dorms, and there were not only a significant Jewish population in our class, our dorm enjoyed a healthy and diverse population, with Jewish students as well as blacks. everyone got along fine. Revisionist history may feel great for the self proclaimed "victims" but it is just not fair to the vast majority of DU students at that time to be painted with such a broad and nasty brush.

I also entered in the fall of '66, and your impressions coincide precisely with mine. As I suggested earlier, I think the sensitivities of both whites and blacks were, shall we say, highly tuned, which sometimes made interactions a little awkward. And as for the number of Jewish students, I would bet that about 10-15% of the undergrad population was Jewish by the time we were seniors.

[ricks68]

Couldn't agree with you guys more. By '66 we had even constructed a giant wooden Menorah that we hung from the side of our dorm (Mirecourt) to celebrate Chanukah. There were quite a few new Jewish students and African American students being accepted. If we had not felt comfortable about hanging the Menorah by then, we wouldn't have done it.

I also tend to agree with DINTBD about the Duke aministration's apparent backsliding from being a leader more today, to being more of a follower. But then, I don't yet know exactly what it would take for Duke to be able to regain that momentum again. Lawsuits and media bias from both sides have been twisted so much for so many different agendas that it's much more difficult today to break out into the honorable ethical forefront.

ricks

[Verga3]

Does anyone have comments or thoughts about the halftime ceremony itself, if you were there. How was the reaction/ovation for everyone? Were the any comments by the honorees?

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Couldn't agree with you guys more. By '66 we had even constructed a giant wooden Menorah that we hung from the side of our dorm (Mirecourt) to celebrate Chanukah. There were quite a few new Jewish students and African American students being accepted. If we had not felt comfortable about hanging the Menorah by then, we wouldn't have done it.

I also tend to agree with DINTBD about the Duke aministration's apparent backsliding from being a leader more today, to being more of a follower. But then, I don't yet know exactly what it would take for Duke to be able to regain that momentum again. Lawsuits and media bias from both sides have been twisted so much for so many different agendas that it's much more difficult today to break out into the honorable ethical forefront.

ricks

I could not agree more about the change in Duke's direction and the role of the administration and the board of trustees. If Duke is to take its traditional place on the cutting edge of social progress, there must first be a desire to do so. The current politically correct MO is so far removed from the principles established with Dr. Bassett's case ..... principle of academic freedom at a time when such a notion was not popular at all. (That's Bassett for whom the dorm was named. My recall of Duke history is not clear, but I think he taught English.)

Somewhere along the way to seeking academic excellence, Duke has begun to copy or follow other well known institutions. The result has undermined the essence of Duke's greatness as an institution of higher learning..

[Waynne]

"As difficult a time as Claiborne had, a lot of what happened at Duke (not all though) was relatively passive racism.
. . . .
"As far as Duke goes, after you read Claiborne’s account, it’s clear, to us anyway, that the university let him down in a big way, and moreover, that the school has never really addressed what happened.
. . . .

"We would really hope Duke would make a serious effort to go back and right this wrong. In some meaningful way, Claiborne should be, as much as possible at this late date, made whole and if it is possible, he should be brought back into the Duke family. How? We don’t know. His jersey being honored? A Claiborne scholarship? A public mea culpa, preferably in Cameron, would be a good start."

As someone whose stay at Duke was coterminous with Claiborne's for three years, I would like to know what sort of acts or omissions by Duke students, faculty, or administrators Claiborne perceived as passive racism and why he, or the author of the words quoted above, thinks that the university let him down in a big way.

You've got to be kidding. Claiborne was not allowed to attend the 1966 team banquet because it was held at a segregated country club. I can't imagine how that made him feel. Oh, BTW, the same racist country club that Duke's president stubbornly refused to resign from for several years while Claiborne was a Duke student. By allowing these things to happen the University let him and many others down in a very big way.

My stay at Duke was coterminous with Claiborne's for one year, and I must say that many of those who have commented on this thread either are unaware of the treatment that AAs endured on campus, or are viewing the experience through rose-colored glasses. Some of the fraternities and sororities were openly and viciously racist (their charters required a number of them to be segregated), as were some professors. The takeover of Allen Building in 1969 did not just happen; it happened because of years of institutional abuse, hostility, and injustice.

As a white student I got an excellent education and had a great time during my years at Duke, but the time is long past due for Duke to acknowledge and apologize for the abuse that Claiborne and the other black students experienced during this shameful period of time.

[wumhenry]

No, I don't got to be kidding, and I resent the insinuation of insincerity.

Although my stay at Duke overlapped Claiborne's for three years I didn't know what sort of racial discrimination he encountered there, so I asked for particulars. I'm sorry to hear that he was excluded from the 1966 team banquet -- but what happened in '67, '68, and '69? Were team banquets held in those years, too, and if so, was Claiborne excluded again, or was he invited on those subsequent occasions?

I find it hard to believe that anyone who taught at Duke while Claiborne was there was openly and viciously racist. What evidence is there for that assertion?

It may well be that the charters for some of the national fraternities and sororities with Duke chapters prohibited admission of AAs, but it would be a gross exaggeration to say that all Duke students who were members of fraternal organizations with such exclusionary charters back in those days were openly and viciously racist. AA students were extremely scarce at Duke in the mid sixties. AFAIK, there was only one in my freshman class (the class of '68), and I never met the guy in a classroom or any other setting. I joined a fraternity (Kappa Sigma) in the spring of '65. Of course, it was all-white. I and most of my fraternity brothers were gut conservatives who had no burning urge to upset the status quo, but we weren't animated by racial hostility. FWIW, there was only one Jewish member when I joined, but several other Jews were admitted while I was there. I never read the fraternity's charter and don't know whether that was racially-exclusionary. No AAs joined the fraternity while I was at Duke, but that was largely due to the the scarcity of AA undergraduates in my freshman and sophomore years and then to AA "black power" self-segregation, which quickly came in vogue as AA enrollment increased in 66/67and 67/68. To be sure, neither I nor, AFAIK, any of my fraternity brothers went out of our way to overcome these impediments, but that doesn't constitute vicious racism IMO.


You've got to be kidding. Claiborne was not allowed to attend the 1966 team banquet because it was held at a segregated country club. I can't imagine how that made him feel. Oh, BTW, the same racist country club that Duke's president stubbornly refused to resign from for several years while Claiborne was a Duke student. By allowing these things to happen the University let him and many others down in a very big way.

My stay at Duke was coterminous with Claiborne's for one year, and I must say that many of those who have commented on this thread either are unaware of the treatment that AAs endured on campus, or are viewing the experience through rose-colored glasses. Some of the fraternities and sororities were openly and viciously racist (their charters required a number of them to be segregated), as were some professors. The takeover of Allen Building in 1969 did not just happen; it happened because of years of institutional abuse, hostility, and injustice.

As a white student I got an excellent education and had a great time during my years at Duke, but the time is long past due for Duke to acknowledge and apologize for the abuse that Claiborne and the other black students experienced during this shameful period of time.

[johnb]

My understanding is that most African Americans feel there is palpable, daily racism in America in 2008. The fact that Claiborne felt racism in the 1960's shouldn't come as a surprise, regardless of the sentiments espoused by his white classmates. In terms of fitting in and being part of an all-white community, being Jewish just isn't the same thing--someone like Heyman might get heckled at a game, but if Heyman had been a bit shorter and less famous, he could have walked into a Klan rally and no one would have noticed. More importantly to the university, despite widespread quotas, there were many academically-elite Jewish teachers and students on campuses around the country; the 1960's-era Jewish undergrad might have felt removed from some Duke activities, but s/he would be much more likely to have arrived on campus with a strong academic background and more likely to not be subjected to the automatic skepticism that would have been the anticipated response by many black students (many of whom had indeed attended segregated and substandard high schools).

There is a HUGE racial divide in regards to the perception of racism, and, even if the average Duke student had the tact not to use the n word on campus, how do you think it would have been received if a '60's era Duke coed had been matched with a black roommate without some prep work (I'll bet that the 1967-era University never roomed a black freshman with a white student from rural South Carolina), much less if she had brought home a black boyfriend? While I have no doubt that most Duke undergrads of that era were well meaning, it just seems clear to me that there would be no way that they could be expected to appreciate Claiborne's point of view.

One element of this point of view is uncertainty. If someone ostracizes me, I tend to look for reasons, but, because I belong to an empowered ethnic majority, I don't assume that ethnicity has anything to do with my being an outsider. As a relatively disenfranchised minority, African Americans are more likely to wonder about slights, about a lack of inclusion, about people's expectations. One of the unsurprising aspects of Obama running for president (IMHO) is that his father was not African American; his father was Kenyan and therefore was not raised in a culture in which he would feel second class.

If you'd like to test this a bit further, check out the well-known Harvard test on implicit preferences that relate to a variety of issues; the one that I've done relates to skin color: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

My understanding is that most African Americans feel there is palpable, daily racism in America in 2008. The fact that Claiborne felt racism in the 1960's shouldn't come as a surprise, regardless of the sentiments espoused by his white classmates. In terms of fitting in and being part of an all-white community, being Jewish just isn't the same thing--someone like Heyman might get heckled at a game, but if Heyman had been a bit shorter and less famous, he could have walked into a Klan rally and no one would have noticed. More importantly to the university, despite widespread quotas, there were many academically-elite Jewish teachers and students on campuses around the country; the 1960's-era Jewish undergrad might have felt removed from some Duke activities, but s/he would be much more likely to have arrived on campus with a strong academic background and more likely to not be subjected to the automatic skepticism that would have been the anticipated response by many black students (many of whom had indeed attended segregated and substandard high schools).

There is a HUGE racial divide in regards to the perception of racism, and, even if the average Duke student had the tact not to use the n word on campus, how do you think it would have been received if a '60's era Duke coed had been matched with a black roommate, much less if she had brought home a black boyfriend? While I have no doubt that most Duke undergrads of that era were well meaning, it just seems clear to me that there would be no way that they could be expected to appreciate Claiborne's point of view.

One element of this point of view is uncertainty. If someone ostracizes me, I tend to look for reasons, but, because I belong to an empowered ethnic majority, I don't assume that ethnicity has anything to do with my being an outsider. As a relatively disenfranchised minority, African Americans tend to wonder about slights, about a lack of inclusion, about people's expectations.

If you'd like to test this a bit further, check out the well-known Harvard test on implicit preferences that relate to a variety of issues; the one that I've done relates to skin color: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

I would agree that today we continue to have a great divide based on race in this country and this divide is not confined to any one region. Current political campaigns remind us that we also continue to have gender, economic and religious divides in this country.

I disagree with a couple of your points. Your comments about what Art Heyman may have experienced as only heckling on the court leaves out a lot of what actually did happen and suggests that religious intolerance is not as serious as racial intolerance. Do you really think that having "Christ killer" or "kike" yelled repeatedly at a player is simply to be dismissed as heckling? How about other players spitting on him?

One point you made about the sixties is not correct. My class included the first Afro Americans admitted to Duke and one of the women lived in my dorm. Her roommate for the entire four years was the same white woman. The fact that these two young women were roommates was a not issue in Giles House.

[Kilby]

The majority population goes through life trusting that they can go where they want to go and be treated just fine. That may happen most of the time for minorities but it does not take but a few instances to break that trust and make you feel unwelcome. Maybe its once a week, once a month or just a couple of times a semester but when you feel it its hard not to wonder if it is there whenever your environment is less than welcoming and you begin it like most college freshmen feeling a little bit out of place. You cannot dismiss the perception of others. They are a little more sensitive to events than you, but maybe they are just a little more aware. It took me a long time to get over being stopped by police with a couple of my friends for walking by the wall on West Campus while being black. Didn't see anyone else stopped. I don't know if it was racism but it felt like it at the time.

[wumhenry]

I hear you Kilby. I know what it feels like to be snubbed, and, believe it or not, I also know what it feels like to be ostracized, though I'm caucasian. That the ostracism wasn't racially discriminatory was of no consolation. Perhaps it would have been easier to bear if I thought it merely had to do with my racial identity.

Waynne, you haven't answered my questions.

First question:
what happened in '67, '68, and '69? Were team banquets held in those years, too, and if so, was Claiborne excluded again, or was he invited on those subsequent occasions?

Second question: On what evidence do you base your allegation that some professors who taught at Duke while Claiborne was there were "openly and viciously" racist?

[diesel]

We learn something about each other from these exchanges. I was a foreign student at Duke in 1964-67: white but with a noticeable foreign accent of British Commonwealth origin. And my background was one where there was a native minority but discrimination against it would have been against the national grain (although official discrimination in immigration against potential Asian migrants was accepted). With this background, the South’s recent racial history was of interest to me as may be my experience at Duke, so herewith a couple of anecdotes.

I thought there was quite a difference in attitudes between Duke and the surrounding society. One experience was telling. The Duke cricket team was playing at Greensboro and an Indian team member got hit by a bump ball. There was some question as to whether and where he was going to be treated at the local hospital until a call from Duke produced a sudden change in behavior. What I got out of this was that some locals had to be reminded to treat foreigners different. I thought they might have known this. Does anyone else recall the NC humorist (Harry ??) who had a turban plan for integration? His theory was that if people of color wore turbans they would be treated with the deference due to foreigners and the problem would be solved. The theory clearly didn’t work on this occasion.

As I said, there was a difference between Duke and the surrounding society. I recall seeing one For Whites Only sign and regarding it as some kind of archaeological relic. On another occasion, I was working at RTI between school years with another Duke student from Ghana. We went for lunch to some fast food outlet where I was asked “Why did you bring him?” I said they didn’t need to worry—they wouldn’t see either of us again. This was received as if it were a slap in the face.

What really struck me about the locals, however, was their insularity. I met several adults who had not ventured from their birthplace in the Piedmont to see the sea. This lack of curiosity astounded me. I recall one of my classmates from Australia driving a hundred miles or so to see snow. I told a relative that the local population may as well have been from the other side of the moon in many respects.

A final anecdote may be of interest as rivaling that of the ACC basketball player from another school who said he was amphibious! For kicks, I went to a Klan rally with a fellow foreign student (attendance I subsequently had to explain in a security check when the US Air Force wanted me to do something for them). Lyndon Johnson was the target of the principal orator, who averred that if Lyndon wanted to practice race-mixing he should start in the White House. Unfortunately, the big word the speaker used was misogyny and not miscegenation, so Lyndon was sent the message that if he wanted to practice misogyny he should start in the White House! I don’t think Lady Bird would have been amused!

We probably got out whole from the rally because they thought we were laughing with them and not at them.

[Indoor66]

We learn something about each other from these exchanges. I was a foreign student at Duke in 1964-67: white but with a noticeable foreign accent of British Commonwealth origin. And my background was one where there was a native minority but discrimination against it would have been against the national grain (although official discrimination in immigration against potential Asian migrants was accepted). With this background, the South’s recent racial history was of interest to me as may be my experience at Duke, so herewith a couple of anecdotes.

I thought there was quite a difference in attitudes between Duke and the surrounding society. One experience was telling. The Duke cricket team was playing at Greensboro and an Indian team member got hit by a bump ball. There was some question as to whether and where he was going to be treated at the local hospital until a call from Duke produced a sudden change in behavior. What I got out of this was that some locals had to be reminded to treat foreigners different. I thought they might have known this. Does anyone else recall the NC humorist (Harry ??) who had a turban plan for integration? His theory was that if people of color wore turbans they would be treated with the deference due to foreigners and the problem would be solved. The theory clearly didn’t work on this occasion.

As I said, there was a difference between Duke and the surrounding society. I recall seeing one For Whites Only sign and regarding it as some kind of archaeological relic. On another occasion, I was working at RTI between school years with another Duke student from Ghana. We went for lunch to some fast food outlet where I was asked “Why did you bring him?” I said they didn’t need to worry—they wouldn’t see either of us again. This was received as if it were a slap in the face.

What really struck me about the locals, however, was their insularity. I met several adults who had not ventured from their birthplace in the Piedmont to see the sea. This lack of curiosity astounded me. I recall one of my classmates from Australia driving a hundred miles or so to see snow. I told a relative that the local population may as well have been from the other side of the moon in many respects.

A final anecdote may be of interest as rivaling that of the ACC basketball player from another school who said he was amphibious! For kicks, I went to a Klan rally with a fellow foreign student (attendance I subsequently had to explain in a security check when the US Air Force wanted me to do something for them). Lyndon Johnson was the target of the principal orator, who averred that if Lyndon wanted to practice race-mixing he should start in the White House. Unfortunately, the big word the speaker used was misogyny and not miscegenation, so Lyndon was sent the message that if he wanted to practice misogyny he should start in the White House! I don’t think Lady Bird would have been amused!

We probably got out whole from the rally because they thought we were laughing with them and not at them.

That was Harry Golden, publisher of The Carolina Israelite. Harry was from Charlotte and had quite an impact on the South. His many books were fascinating study of the attitudes and times of the South, as well as the country as a whole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Golden

http://library.uncc.edu/display/?dept=special&format=open&page=1141

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

We learn something about each other from these exchanges. I was a foreign student at Duke in 1964-67: white but with a noticeable foreign accent of British Commonwealth origin. And my background was one where there was a native minority but discrimination against it would have been against the national grain (although official discrimination in immigration against potential Asian migrants was accepted). With this background, the South’s recent racial history was of interest to me as may be my experience at Duke, so herewith a couple of anecdotes.

I thought there was quite a difference in attitudes between Duke and the surrounding society. One experience was telling. The Duke cricket team was playing at Greensboro and an Indian team member got hit by a bump ball. There was some question as to whether and where he was going to be treated at the local hospital until a call from Duke produced a sudden change in behavior. What I got out of this was that some locals had to be reminded to treat foreigners different. I thought they might have known this. Does anyone else recall the NC humorist (Harry ??) who had a turban plan for integration? His theory was that if people of color wore turbans they would be treated with the deference due to foreigners and the problem would be solved. The theory clearly didn’t work on this occasion.

As I said, there was a difference between Duke and the surrounding society. I recall seeing one For Whites Only sign and regarding it as some kind of archaeological relic. On another occasion, I was working at RTI between school years with another Duke student from Ghana. We went for lunch to some fast food outlet where I was asked “Why did you bring him?” I said they didn’t need to worry—they wouldn’t see either of us again. This was received as if it were a slap in the face.

What really struck me about the locals, however, was their insularity. I met several adults who had not ventured from their birthplace in the Piedmont to see the sea. This lack of curiosity astounded me. I recall one of my classmates from Australia driving a hundred miles or so to see snow. I told a relative that the local population may as well have been from the other side of the moon in many respects.

A final anecdote may be of interest as rivaling that of the ACC basketball player from another school who said he was amphibious! For kicks, I went to a Klan rally with a fellow foreign student (attendance I subsequently had to explain in a security check when the US Air Force wanted me to do something for them). Lyndon Johnson was the target of the principal orator, who averred that if Lyndon wanted to practice race-mixing he should start in the White House. Unfortunately, the big word the speaker used was misogyny and not miscegenation, so Lyndon was sent the message that if he wanted to practice misogyny he should start in the White House! I don’t think Lady Bird would have been amused!

We probably got out whole from the rally because they thought we were laughing with them and not at them.

Your observation about the differences between the social climate at Duke and those of the surrounding area are right on point.

I would like to comment on the point you made about the local people not seeming to be curious or adventuresome because they had not ventured outside Durham. The truth of the matter is that many were struggling to survive on their wages as workers in textile or tobacco factories or as farmers. When people are living at the survival level, their views of what's important in their lives do tend to be restricted.

Last fall I read one of the books on the bibliography for Duke Reads. It's title is The Best of Enemies. Having lived in Durham for more than forty years (beginning with freshman year at Duke), I recognized much of what the book tells, but learned some new things as well. One shortcoming of the book is that it offers little frame of reference for what was taking place across America at the time. Since this book was one selected for incoming freshman to read, my concern while reading it was that younger readers might have an insular view because they would likely be unfamiliar with national context in which these events took place. One such ongoing phenomenon during some of the most volatile period of this book was the gambling and point shaving which went on in college basketball..... including some colleges in North Carolina.

By the way, the basketball player you mentioned .... the one who said he was amphibious... was born in New York City and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School.

Regarding the matter of insular points of view, I remember more than once (graduate and undergraduate schools) hearing students from other regions of the country express surprise that there were actually four seasons in Durham.

It's all in how each of us sees other people.

[diesel]

Thanks to Indoor 66 for correctly recalling that the author of the Turban Theory of Integration was Harry Golden. I did recall this later on my own hook but seem not to be able to find out how to work the edit function on DBR (probably owing to the onset of senility).

By the way, Indoor 66, shouldn’t that be Indoor 666 if you’re a Blue Devil supporter?

And I’m sorry to disappoint Devil with the Blue Dress, but the incurious inhabitants of Durham I mentioned, and there were several, were solidly middle class and products of the local high schools who were kind enough to do things such as have a foreign student neighbor over for a meal.

I’m not sure I recall knowing any millworkers but I met farmers when I used to shoot doves over their land. I thought the Klan followers were of a different social order—I thought of them as likely to be gas station attendants. I guess these are exactly the kind of people who might have felt threatened economically by integration.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Thanks to Indoor 66 for correctly recalling that the author of the Turban Theory of Integration was Harry Golden. I did recall this later on my own hook but seem not to be able to find out how to work the edit function on DBR (probably owing to the onset of senility).

By the way, Indoor 66, shouldn’t that be Indoor 666 if you’re a Blue Devil supporter?

And I’m sorry to disappoint Devil with the Blue Dress, but the incurious inhabitants of Durham I mentioned, and there were several, were solidly middle class and products of the local high schools who were kind enough to do things such as have a foreign student neighbor over for a meal.

I’m not sure I recall knowing any millworkers but I met farmers when I used to shoot doves over their land. I thought the Klan followers were of a different social order—I thought of them as likely to be gas station attendants. I guess these are exactly the kind of people who might have felt threatened economically by integration.
I highly recommend The Best of Enemies.

I'm not disappointed. I lived in Durham for over forty years and have had similar experiences. One reason I stayed in Durham and worked in various positions in the public schools was that I wanted to open the possibilities in life for as many youngsters as I could. (Think globally; act locally.)

My point was how pervasive it is for a society when a large segment is just trying to survive. I appreciate knowing more details of your encounters. I've often wondered how Durham would have developed had the tobacco or textile owners treated their employees like Mr. Kohler of Kohler, Wis. treated his employees. The model was paternalistic, but the owner did encourage his employees to better their lives and gave them the means or access to do so.

As I reflect on what has been said in this thread and in conversations over the years, I come back to how important it is to get to know individual people and not make assumptions about other people based on what we think they are like or what we heard they are like.

[diesel]

Thanks, Devil in the Blue Dress, for the further enlightment on matters Durham in the 60's.

You may be right about many in the area living just above the poverty line then. But one thing I do suggest--they must have been working poor. If I recall correctly, there was no significant unemployment in the area in the mid-60's.

But may I reiterate a question asked by another poster above? Can anyone who was present enlighten the rest of us on what happened at the ceremony in Cameron at half-time honoring Claiborne?

It would have been too much to expect that CBS would have seen fit to cover this significant occasion. They didn't even let me see 3/4 of the second half of the game! Damn Bourgeois Drive-By Media! Or rather, my stars and buttons!--as one of my elderly lady neighbors in Durham in the mid-60's would have said. (One can see that some Southern manners rubbed off on me.)

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Thanks, Devil in the Blue Dress, for the further enlightment on matters Durham in the 60's.

You may be right about many in the area living just above the poverty line then. But one thing I do suggest--they must have been working poor. If I recall correctly, there was no significant unemployment in the area in the mid-60's.

But may I reiterate a question asked by another poster above? Can anyone who was present enlighten the rest of us on what happened at the ceremony in Cameron at half-time honoring Claiborne?

It would have been too much to expect that CBS would have seen fit to cover this significant occasion. They didn't even let me see 3/4 of the second half of the game! Damn Bourgeois Drive-By Media! Or rather, my stars and buttons!--as one of my elderly lady neighbors in Durham in the mid-60's would have said. (One can see that some Southern manners rubbed off on me.)
Each of the ceremonies conducted over the past three home games was conducted in much the same way. Those being honored came out to mid court and stood there, sometimes waving to the crowd while the announcer read about each person's achievements while at Duke and later. Each honoree was presented with a plaque.

The ceremony for Coach Bubas, Dr.Claiborne, Dr. Newsome, Dr. Turner and Ernie Jackson went much as did the one for Lefty. The students sat for most of it and did clap a bit. Many people upstairs stood for all the ceremonies and clapped for each person honored. This was a contrast to the ceremony for Dick Groat when many of the students and people upstairs remained standing for much of the ceremony.

I was a bit disappointed that all these ceremonies came so late in life for each of the honorees and seemed to be a reaction to other honors accorded elsewhere. I also wondered about the timing of some of the awards and the recent PC crisis on campus.

As much as many on this board want to complain of anything about Carolina, I must say Carolina does a great job of remembering and recognizing their greats and keeping their sports history alive.