Cummings, Humphrey

Sanders, Bridgette
Stickell, Lois

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2004-12-14

1 audio file (44:09) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Humphrey Cummings was a man in his late 50s at the time of interview, which took place in his office in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Richlands, North Carolina in the mid 1940s. He was educated at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and was employed as a lawyer.

Charlotte attorney Humphrey Cummings shares his memories of his time as an African American student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) during the late 1960s and early 1970s. As one out of a class of around thirty black students, he describes the climate on campus at the time. Mr. Cummings describes race relations on campus, the Black Student Union, and their work in advocating for an African American Studies program. He also talks about politically active African American students who went on to become influential leaders, most notably Benjamin Chavis and T.J. Reddy. He discusses his perception of campus administration on issues of race, characterizing much of the administration as being slow and cautious when reacting to demands of black student groups or when handling racial conflict. Mr. Cummings describes Vice Chancellor Bonnie Cone as being different from the rest of the administration in that she was more personable and was interested in resolving the concerns of individual students. In addition to discussing student activism, Mr. Cummings describes the changes he has seen in Charlotte through the time of interview during the forty years he has lived in the city.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master file. Interview originally recorded on analog audio cassette and digitized using Digidesign 003 rack.

Lawyers

Cummings, Humphrey
Reddy, T. J., 1945-
Chavis, Ben, 1948-
Cone, Bonnie, 1907-2003

University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Black Student Union (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
Black Panther Party

African American college students
Student movements
African American college students--Political activity
School integration
African American neighborhoods
Civil rights movements
Civil rights demonstrations
Race relations
Urban renewal

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Brooklyn
North Carolina--Charlotte--Second Ward
North Carolina--Wilmington

Interviews
Oral histories

1950-2010

UNC Charlotte Oral History Interviews

Civil rights activism on campus

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

audio/mpeg

UA-CU0007

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:202