28 Days of American History

Who? Ralph Frasier
What? One of the first black students to integrate UNC-Chapel Hill
When? 55 years ago

Check out an excerpt from the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History:

"On April 27, 1955, only 8 days after applying for admission, three students, including Frasier, received identical letters from the Director of Admissions that stated that the Trustees of the University had not changed the policy of admission of Negroes to the University because Negroes were eligible to apply to a Negro college in the state. Mr. Ralph Frasier along with the other two youth requested that the University reverse its policy of discrimination.

Mr. Ralph Frasier, his brother LeRoy and John Lewis Brandon filed suit against the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina in Federal District Court in North Carolina. In their lawsuit they argued that the resolution passed by the Board of Trustees was invalid and unconstitutional because it expressly provided for separate but equal colleges for blacks as declared in the landmark Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education ruling of the Supreme Court in 1954. On September 16, 1955, the NC Federal District Court ordered that the University of North Carolina was prohibited from denying admission to these applicants solely because of their race or color if they were qualified.

In 1958, Mr. Ralph Frasier left the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill due to racial tension and continued discrimination and began two years active military service after which he enrolled at North Carolina Central University. After graduating NCCU, he obtained a Juris Doctorate Degree from that university as well. The North Carolina Bar Association, a voluntary organization for lawyers, initially denied admission to Mr. Frasier because of his race. That permission was eventually granted and he had a illustrious career spanning over 40 years."

Copyright (C) 2010 The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History All rights reserved.