Chronicling the Founding of the UNCG LGBT Student Organization (1971-1975)

Carolinian, Oct. 4, 1971 (p.7)

Although our University enjoys the benefits of a culture promoting equality and inclusivity, UNCG’s reputation for embracing diversity as an educational foundation was constructed over decades by student and staff advocacy. Among the more hidden stories of Civil Rights struggles at UNCG is that of the formation of a university-acknowledged student organization for LGBTQ students.

There are few records on the lives and activities of the University’s LGBTQ students, but the first evidence for the need of such an organization on campus can be found as early as 1971. By this time, the university had been reorganized as a co-educational institution, and although there is some evidence of a lesbian student population on campus for several decades (1), discrimination against gay male students provoked the first plea for tolerance in the student newspaper:

Last year it was decided by some members of the fraternity and a few other males that their image was being threatened by the gay men on campus. It was felt that those gay men were becoming too blatant to be tolerated. They had the audacity to be themselves occasionally...

There was some talk among the homosexuals of starting a gay liberation movement here at school. When this “uppity” talk reached the ears of the other men they decided to act. They all got drunk and set about threatening people with violence. (2) 

It would be unlikely that the victims of such bullying would be willing to report threats, as homosexuality was not (and still is not) a protected class of minority by state law. Additionally, as homosexuality was officially classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association during this time, there was no pressure for University officials to investigate such situations.  However, the landscape for gay rights shifted in 1973, when the APA removed homosexuality from the list of diagnosable mental illnesses. It did not take long for LGBTQ students to organize, and by 1974, a “gay political social group” was forming on campus.

In November of 1974, a flier promoting the first meeting of a gay student organization was attached to a bulletin board in the School of Music. This flier was brought to the attention of Jim H. Allen, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Chancellor James S. Ferguson. In a letter to the Office of the UNC System President, Bill Friday, Allen requested for legal advice, asking:

• What are the state statues for dealing with homosexuality?
• What statutory prohibitions, if any, are there regarding the funding of a homosexual organization out of student activity fees?
• May it be argued that to provide meeting space on the campus for a homosexual organization is to provide a form of support through the public revenues…?

In response, David N. Edwards, Jr., Special Assistant to the Office of the President, advised Allen that withholding institutional support from a student organization meeting the necessary requirements would be legally precarious, providing citations from three federal cases in which the court overruled university prohibitions against gay student organizations. Essentially, a gay student organization, with a mission to support its members and to educate the public, does not pose a danger to the campus or inherently violate university regulations. Also, the cases of the federal court overturning the prohibitions of other universities provided the administration of UNCG with legal support in permitting a gay student organization, should dissension arise from formal recognition.

The documentation formally requesting the recognition of the Gay Student Union of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was submitted and approved in 1979, with Rev. Joe Flora, Presbyterian Pastor for Campus Ministries, as the faculty adviser. The stated mission of the organization was:

• To educate the public about legal, social and personal aspects of homosexuality
• To provide a support system for those in the organization
• To represent the homosexual portion of the student body in matters relevant to homosexual students

The initial meeting of the Gay Student Union occurred in September 25, 1979, but the first meeting as a university-recognized organization occurred one month later, on October 25^th. (3-4) Unfortunately, there is not a record of the founding members of the organization, but the initiative of these students established a network of support for LGBTQ students that has lasted over 30 years.

The Gay Student Union underwent many changes and overcame many obstacles over its history. The organization encountered many challenges through the 1980s well into the 1990s, but the struggles have led to the cultivation of a campus culture of support and advocacy. In fact, the 2012 Homecoming included the first homecoming for UNCG’s LGBTQA Alumni. As stated by attending Alumni, it was their first “homecoming-out.”

(1) Oral history interview with Key L. Barkley, 1991 [OH003]. UNCG Centennial Oral History Project Collection, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

(2) "The Last Liberation," The Carolinian, October 4, 1971 [UA42.4.01]. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

(3) "Gay Academic Union Formed," The Carolinian, October 30, 1979 [UA42.4.01]. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

(4) "Corrections," The Carolinian, November 6, 1979 [UA42.4.01]. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

Off the Record: sharing the story of the LGBTQ+ history of UNCG

University Archives is beginning the celebration of UNC Greensboro's PRIDE Month with the story of our LGBTQ+ history in the words of our current students, alumni, and faculty. In April of 2017, the University Libraries and the Office of Intercultural Engagement sponsored a panel of volunteers, who identify as LGBTQ+. The perspective of the LGBTQ+ history of UNC Greensboro, based upon these panelists, spans from the 1970s until present, elaborating upon the gap-filled evidence represented in the university's historical record.

[This video is closed caption enabled]

This panel, “Off the Record: sharing the story of the LGBTQ+ history of UNCG,” is inspired by the oral history project underway as part of the 125th anniversary of the opening of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNC Greensboro). With Chancellor Gilliam’s sponsorship, the University Archives of UNC Greensboro Libraries is conducting a two year project (2016-2018) of oral history interviews. This ambitious project hopes to capture oral histories from a wide variety of interviewees with connections to UNC Greensboro, such as faculty, administrators, alumni, staff, and current students.

Of the 19,000 students enrolled at UNC Greensboro (at the time of the panel), the school's Fall 2016 ACHA-National College Health Assessment (NCHA) estimated that 23 percent of these students self-identify as nonheterosexual or nongender-binary.

Panelists: Dane Hansen; Kathleen Williams; James V. Carmichael, Jr.; Jay Poole; Zachary Johnson
Moderator: Stacey Krim

For more information about the LGBTQ+ history of UNC Greensboro, please see:

• Chronicling the Founding of the LGBT Student Organization (1971-1975)
• "Gays Go Home" -- The Strong Hall Protest of 1979
• His Name Was Kenneth Crump
• Fighting to Make a Statement: The Struggle for UNCG's Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Clause
• Dark Shadows, Deep Closets

Dining at the Home Economics Cafeteria

From 1929 through 1982, the institution now known as UNCG hosted a unique and popular campus resource that served not only as a teaching laboratory but as a meeting and dining space for people across the University. The Home Economics Cafeteria allowed students in the School of Home Economics an opportunity to learn about "the scientific and artistic principles of cookery as they apply to quantity food production and service in a real situation."

Home Economics Cafeteria, 1951

Located in Home Economics (now Stone) Building, the cafeteria focused on providing lunch, initially only three days a week and then on all five weekdays. Beginning in 1973, the cafeteria also offered a 45-minute "coffee break" from 9:30-10:15 "to help brighten your morning." Students worked with a number of full-time employees to ensure that a variety of healthy meals were prepared in sanitary conditions.

Menus from the cafeteria demonstrate the wide range of foods prepared by the students and staff. Students in 1941 served a variety of soups as part of their work to assist in the revision of Army and Navy cookbooks. Often, the student cafeteria managers would select themes for the week's menu, and plan accordingly by researching and selecting appropriate recipes and soliciting comments for future planning.

The week of September 16-20, 1974, was deemed "International Week" in the Home Economics Cafeteria. Each day of the week featured food from a different culture. Monday was "German Day," and included red cabbage, sauerbraten, and reuben sandwiches. Tuesday was a celebration of Jewish New Year, and included potato soup, lox, and bagels. Italian cuisine was featured on Wednesday with lasagne, minestrone stoup, and garlic bread. "French Day" was Thursday, and included French onion soup, beef bourguignon, and broccoli almandine. And, finally, on Friday, the cafeteria returned to "American Day," with fried chicken, cornbread, and, of course, "Mom's apple pie."

Stone (previously Home Economics) Building

The cafeteria proved a success as a meeting place for University faculty members. Charles Adams, the head librarian at UNCG, noted that the cafeteria's "very friendly and open atmosphere makes it a good place to visit with colleagues." Augustine La Rochelle, a professor of Romance languages, declared "it's the best food in the city!"

In spite of its success, the cafeteria ceased operations on Wednesday, December 8, 1982, due to the increasing costs of operation. Much equipment was obsolete or in need of major repair, and administrators felt the cafeteria "no longer provided an up-to-date, relevant educational experience." Dr. Jacqueline Voss, dean of the School of Home Economics, stated that "we all recognize the significant role the cafeteria has played on campus. It has provided over the years a place where faculty and staff members from across the campus and from different disciplines could gather and talk and get to know one another. However, given the current restraints under which we are currently operating, it is no longer feasible for us to maintain the operation of the cafeteria."

The History of the College’s Yearbook Part II: 1930s to 1950s

As the college moved into the 1930s, it underwent transformations that reflected the unsettled economic trials of the country. The stock market crash of 1929 threw the nation into a financial crisis, resulting in a drop in enrollment and faculty pay for the North Carolina women’s college. Faculty took an additional hit when Greensboro banks failed in 1933. In the midst of these calamities, and under the watchful eye of President Julius Foust, the school officially consolidated with the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Engineering, and was renamed the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina.

Students representing "Sportsmanship," 1931 Pine Needles

Yet during these tumultuous times, the Pine Needles yearbook maintained its high quality with a combination of photographs and interesting graphics. Most of the yearbooks from the 1930s had themes which gave the publications a visual focus. The 1932 edition featured the “melting pot” of American culture with chapter illustrations that represented various groups of North Carolina settlers. The theme of the 1933 yearbook was mysteries and superstitions, incorporating drawings of stylishly dressed young “detectives” who resembled the recently created heroine, Nancy Drew. This edition also reflected an unusual part of the college’s history when men were briefly admitted as day students during the Great Depression. It was during this time that Pine Needles began to consistently include photographs of the faculty and students; campus buildings; “superlatives;” class mascots; and societies, organizations, and clubs. Dedication and In Memoriam pages saw older faculty members and students remembered by the campus community.

Image from the 1933 Pine Needles

The 1941 Pine Needles ushered color into the annual publication and featured the 50th anniversary of the founding of the college. This yearbook, as well as the 1942 – 1946 volumes, covered the years when World War II was a major part of the daily life of the school and the country. Through the War Service League, the students and faculty, led by Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson, contributed a great deal to the war effort. Yet, beyond the war, 1940s yearbooks also reflected the growth of the college, with events such as the Arts Forum and Social Science Forum and the founding of the Weatherspoon Art Gallery. At the end of the decade, the school was the largest women’s college in the United States and Pine Needles attempted to modernize its design by replacing quaint themes with a look to the future.



Chancellor Jackson with Woman's College Students, 1941 Pine Needles

 The 1950s brought a great deal of change to the campus. Chancellor Jackson retired in 1950 and many older campus buildings were replaced by more functional structures. The decade also saw the desegregation of the campus in 1956 with the admittance of JoAnne Smart and Bettye Ann Davis Tillman. Although JoAnne and Bettye were included in individual and dormitory group photographs, it would take years before African American students were truly represented in Pine Needles. As the college moved into the 1960s, enrollment was at an all-time high, but Woman’s College was facing many challenges which reflected larger national issues, such as Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. Part III of the History of the College’s Yearbook will cover the school’s move to co-education, campus activism, and the demise of Pine Needles.



JoAnne Smart in a Shaw Dormitory Group Photograph, 1957 Pine Needles

Dr. Gove Goes to War

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Dr. Anna Gove, resident physician at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College (now UNC Greensboro), began preparing to become part of the effort.  Because female doctors were not allowed into the Army Medical Core, Dr. Gove looked for other opportunities to serve oversees.

By September 1917, Dr. Gove's personal papers show that she had purchased French textbooks from the Cortina Academy of Languages to prepare for European war work.  She had also sent a letter of resignation to Dr. Foust, President of the State Normal.  In his return letter, Dr. Foust expressed his hope that "after conditions become normal that you may yet find it possible to be with us again."

On January 29, 1918, a letter from the American Red Cross offered Dr. Gove a salary of $1800 a year for "general medical relief work among the refugees."  She was to set sail for France around March 1st.  Additionally, she was provided with a $200 stipend to purchase equipment and uniforms. "Goods to be bought a Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Mad. Ave. & 45th St., New York City."

List of equipment and uniform items to be purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch.  Not the handwritten list of addition items purchased by Dr. Gove.

Dr. Gove made the journey to France and was stationed at a clinic in Marseilles.  Her letters home paint a picture of her daily life and environment.  Marsielles, in the south of France, remained removed from front-line battle.  Dr. Gove writes, "With all this frightful struggle going on this city seems a place remote and unmoved by the fortunes of the contest."  She goes on to speak of the unsafe areas of the city where nurses cannot travel, the inflated prices of food and necessities, and the importance of having good shoes and clothing.

Dr. Anna Gove in American Red Cross uniform, ca. 1918

Gove spent her time in France with the Children's Relief Unit.  They worked with women and children fleeing the war in Eastern Europe.  Often, malnourishment and harsh travel conditions resulted in children arriving with serious and chronic illnesses.  Dr. Gove worked to educate mothers on the importance of hygiene to prevent sickness, an area that she continued to study after she returned from the war.

The armistice ending the war was signed on November 11, 1918.  Dr. Gove continued with the Red Cross.  She was sent to Aubenas, Ardeche, France to set up a dispensary, a small clinic to provide care for refugees.  In December, she wrote to her superior describing several unique and severely sick patients she had seen during the past month.  She finished the letter with a word about the rest of her cases that were "the usual run of people who never are well because they have never lived properly and are worse now from hard conditions."

Dr. Gove's service to the Red Cross ending in early March, 2019.  She took the opportunity to travel to Paris to sight-see. In April, Dr. Foust sent a telegram to Dr. Gove.  It simply read, "Expecting your return as physician need you salary exceeds two thousand write us." Rather than return to the States, Dr. Gove found work with the Smith College Relief Unit in Grecourt, Somme, France.  The Relief Unit was comprised of young students and alums from Smith College who wanted to volunteer for the war effort.  Gove continued to assist the unit with providing aid throughout the summer.  Her health took a turn for the worse, affecting her eye sight drastically.  In August, She went to her childhood home in New Hampshire and spent the Fall recovering.  She traveled to Greensboro in January 1920, helping out at the school part-time until her health returned fully.   

The Black Arts Forum and Black History Month Celebrations at UNCG, 1969-1985

In its first full year of recognition and funding from the Student Government Association, the Neo-Black Society focused much of its programming on the sponsorship of black cultural events and speakers on the UNCG campus. The 1969-1970 academic year saw the launch of the annual Black Arts Forum, featuring a performance by "The Believers" (a "musical-drama group"), the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, and an exhibit in Elliott Hall of art by African American students at schools throughout the Piedmont region. Typically, this celebration took place in February (nationally, Black History Week was first proposed in 1926; it was expanded to Black History Month in February 1970).

In the early 1980s, the Black Arts Forum transitioned into a broader campus-wide observance of Black History Month. The Neo-Black Society remained a primary coordinator of the Black History Month celebration, but the Student Government Association and other campus departments and students groups also participated in planning and coordinating the events. 

NBS Dance Troupe performs during the 1984 Black History Month celebration

In 1984, UNCG's Black History Month celebration kicked off on January 31 with a speech by Julian Bond. At the time, Bond was a Georgia state senator, but he had previously served as one of the co-founders of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (he later served as chairman of the NAACP from 1998-2010 and as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center). The event featuring Bond was held at UNCG's Aycock Auditorium, but was organized and featured student performers and speakers from across Greensboro. In addition to UNCG students, others from North Carolina A&T University, Guilford College, Bennett Colleve, Guilford Tech, and Greensboro College participated in the program. Immediately prior to Bond's speech, which was titled "What Next?," the audience was entertained by a performance featured the combined voices of North Carolina A&T's United Christian Fellowship Choir and UNCG's Neo-Black Society Choir. 

In 1985, the Black History Month celebration had a large focus on the work of African American playwright and writer Lorraine Hansberry. The year marked the 25th anniversary of the first production of drama A Raisin in the Sun, and UNCG organized a four-day Lorraine Hansberry Seminar series centered around the work. Dr. Linda Brown Bragg, who taught creative writing and African American literature in UNCG's Residential College, delivered the opening lecture titled "Lorraine Hansberry: American Writer--International Consciousness." The following evening, UNCG history professor Dr. Loren Schweninger discussed A Raisin the Sun from a historical perspective. Dr. Femi Richards, who was serving as a distinguished visiting professor in the UNCG School of Home Economics, followed the next night with a lecture on "The African Aesthetic and Design Components in A Raisin in the Sun." The series was concluded with a lecture by Lorraine Hansberry scholar Deborah J. Wood, who spoke on "Lorraine Hanserry's Chicago Realism."

NBS Gospel Choir members in 1985

1985 also saw a Black Alumni Reunion weekend from February 22-24. The featured event of the weekend was a lecture by Dr. Mary Frances Berry, a civil rights leader who had been the first woman to serve as chancellor of a major research university. She served on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and in 1984 co-founded the Free South Africa Movement. Additional events that weekend included a banquet featuring a speech by Joanna Smart Drane, one of the first African Americans admitted to Woman's College (now UNCG), and a showing of the Prince movie Purple Rain. 

Restoration of Neo-Black Society Funding and the Ensuing Challenges, 1973

In the last two Spartan Stories, we looked at the founding of UNCG's Neo-Black Society (NBS) and the Spring 1973 Student Government Association (SGA) challenge to the organization's funding. At the end of last week's Spartan Stories post, UNCG Chancellor James Ferguson formed a faculty committee to investigate the Student Student Senate's March 1973 decision to revoke the Neo-Black Society's funding. Based on the committee's findings, he invalidated the Student Senate's decision.

But before the faculty committee's report was even released, a number of Student Government Association members (including those who filed the original petition against the NBS) hired attorney Michael K. Curtis to represent them. In a March 30, 1973, letter to Chancellor Ferguson and Dr. Kendon Smith, chair of the faculty committee investigating the ruling, Curtis wrote that his "clients are seriously disturbed by the recent action of the University establishing a faculty advisory committee to consider and possibly recommend reversal of the Student Senate's decision to terminate the funding of the Neo-Black Society."

Leon Chestnut, NBS coordinator

But, as we learned last week, the committee did indeed recommend that the NBS funding be restored, and Chancellor Ferguson agreed. Student Government Association vice president Jacqueline Coleman, one of the students represented by Curtis, responded to Ferguson's decision with a letter stating her intent to appeal his ruling to the UNCG Board of Trustees. Additionally, on April 3, the Student Senate passed a resolution asserting that the Chancellor's decision served to suspend "the grant of power to the Student Government Association."

Before the next Board of Trustees meeting, however, five individual students who had hired Curtis as their attorney filed suit in U.S. District Court in April. Many other UNCG students signed petitions making it clear that these individual students did not represent the opinion of the student body at large. The suit specifically named Chancellor Ferguson, members of the Board of Trustees, and two officers of the Neo-Black Society as defendants. One of the two was NBS coordinator Leon Chestnut.

At their June 4, 1973 meeting, the Board of Trustees found "that the action of the Chancellor in invalidating the action of the Student Senate of March 26-27, 1973 in reclassifying the Neo-Black Society was appropriate and correct, based upon the evidence presented to him." But the Board also concluded "in view of the contradictory nature of the evidence presented at the hearing on the appeal before the board on June 4, 1973, that the matter be remanded to the Student Senate for a hearing de novo on the classification of the Neo-Black Society, such hearing to be held within thirty days after the beginning of the Fall Semester, 1973."

Text of the Board of Trustees' June 4, 1973 decision

The University followed by filing a motion to dismiss the case in District Court. After fighting the dismissal, the students filing suit dropped their suit in November 1973. A consent order filed in January 1974 outlined the agreements reached by the court, the plaintiffs, and the defendants. The one stipulation outlined in the consent agreement refers specifically to a change to the Neo-Black constitution. The original NBS constitution stated "the aims of the Neo-Black Society are to promote understanding and a sense of unity among black students." In the consent order, the NBS agreed to change its constitution "in order to dispel any appearance of engaging in discriminatory practices." The new constitution clearly states that "the Neo-Black Society shall be open to and shall welcome all undergraduate students without regard to race, religion, color, creed, national origin, or sex." With that one revision, the lawsuit concluded and all parties agreed that NBS would receive full funding as "an official activity of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro."

The following Fall, on September 19, 1974, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James H. Allen, who had worked with NBS leadership throughout the funding challenge, wrote a memo to the NBS membership as they planned their annual banquet. He wrote "the contributions of the Neo-Black Society to racial understanding and an appreciation of the contribution of the Black culture and heritage are important to the educational mission of the University. I look forward with you to a significant year of achievement for the Society and offer my support to you in whatever ways necessary in accomplishing your goals for the year."