Fran Jackson - On her childhood, education, and school integration
Interviewed by Christa Broadnax on March 23, 2001
“I still feel that many predominantly white institutions are somewhat insensitive, particularly to African-American students…and I think the last institutions which will make changes are the major white institutions because they are benefitting from the privilege of being white institutions.”
- Fran Jackson
Fran Jackson was raised in Chapel Hill during segregation and the process of integration. She talks about her experience growing up in Black schools vs. integrated schools and what she remembers about the political and cultural climate around her at that time. She also discusses her current thoughts and feelings towards predominantly white institutions, particularly schools. Ms. Jackson reflects on her experiences and how they’ve driven her to become a teacher and influenced how she raised her children. She ends the interview talking about the opportunity she has of taking her students to Africa and the impact it’s had on both her and them.
This interview is part of a project conducted by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate and undergraduate students in a 2001 oral history course. Topics include Chapel Hill's efforts to end racial segregation in the public schools; the process of creating integrated institutions; and the ways in which the memory of those experiences shapes schools to this day. Interviewees include former teachers, students, and administrators from Lincoln High School, the historically black school that closed when the desegregation plan was implemented, and Chapel Hill High School, which was integrated in 1962.
