Although it was not until the 1960s that the first African-American students entered Greensboro College, it is important to maintain a historical perspective and realize that progress in terms of racial equality came slowly here in the South. Additionally, the presence of nearby public universities such as UNC-G and NC A&T State University coupled with the existence Bennett College, a small college for African-American women, undoubtedly had a negative impact on the number of African-American students interested in attending Greensboro College. Even before the first African-American students entered Greensboro College in the 1960s, however, some of the College's students did have a positive impact on the issue of race here in Greensboro. In 1961, three of the College's students (Ed Bryant, Lowell Lott, and Rick O'Neal) "left their social studies class to find out more [about the Sit-In that was taking place downtown at the Woolworth lunch counter]. After observing the Sit-In for a short time, those three students joined the African-American students from A&T, becoming three of only a few white students supporting the movement." (Greensboro News & Record - Jan. 17, 2002) And although the College did catch heat from certain quarters, the College's president at the time (Rev. Dr. Harold Hutson, the 11th President from 1952-1964) voiced his support for the students and their actions.

In terms of African-American recruitment, the College has historically had to compete with other nearby schools for those students and has not been as aggressive in recruiting those students as it could have been.

Rev. Dr. David Mobberly 13th President, 1969-1972

"My three years at GC were 1969-72. Those days were troubled by student and faculty unrest exacerbated by the nation's war with Vietnam. None of the minor disturbances at GC seemed to have anything to do with race relations. Sad to relate, our Office of Admissions at that time did not have a special emphasis on recruitment of African-American students. The presence of Bennett College and North Carolina A &T University may have made recruitment somewhat difficult."

(Excerpted from an Oct. 31, 2002 email with Dr. Mobberly)

In recent years, however, the College has made significant strides in increasing the recruitment and enrollment of African-American students by marketing the College's programs and benefits more effectively to those students.

Since the 1960s, racial tension here at Greensboro College has been for the most part relatively minor. Penny Nichols, the College's first African-American graduate (1973) recalls that she did not experience any discrimination or racial tension while at the College. And by and large, that seems to have been the case.Of course, in every barrel of apples there are always a few bad ones. In January of 1991, racial tension reared its ugly head here on the College campus when an unsigned racist letter was found by a student. The College responded to this violation by condemning the letter and by conducting a community workshop called "We're All In This Together." The purpose of the workshop was to identify how everyone could work together to build a stronger campus community. An outgrowth of that workshop was the "Voice of the People" task force that was formed to examine a number of concerns and to recommend actions that should be taken to address those concerns.