Inventory of the Winston-Salem Teachers Association Records, 1958 - 1970

Descriptive Summary Administrative Information      Access Restrictions      Copyright Notice      Preferred Citation      Acquisitions Information      Processing Information Historical Note Collection Overview Online Catalog Headings Container List

Winston-Salem State University

Contact Information: Winston-Salem State University Archives C.G. O'Kelly Library Winston-Salem, N.C. 27110 336-750-2455 336-750-2459 http://www.wssu.edu/library/archives

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Descriptive Summary

Repository:	Winston-Salem State University. Archives
Creator:	Winston-Salem Teachers Association
Title:	Winston-Salem Teachers Association Records, 1958-1970
Language of Material:	Material in English
Location:	For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Winston-Salem State University Archives.
Abstract:	The Winston-Salem Teachers Association (WSTA) was a chapter of the North Carolina Teachers Association (NCTA), an organization for teachers and administrators at segregated African-American schools.
	The WSTA Records consist of minutes and correspondence dating 1958 to 1970. These materials document the group's membership, finances, and activities, especially those relating to school integration and the merger of the NCTA with the predominantly white NCEA.
Extent:	7 items, 1 archival box

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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research

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Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the creators, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Winston-Salem Teachers Association Records (MS 13), Winston-Salem State University Archives, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.

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Acquisitions Information

Gift of Dianne Caesar, April 2004

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Processing Information

Processed by Cat S. McDowell, April 2005

Encoded by Cat S. McDowell, May 2005

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Historical Note

The Winston-Salem Teachers Association (WSTA) was a chapter of the North Carolina Teachers Association (NCTA), an organization founded in 1881 by those interested in the education of Negroes in the state. By 1930, NCTA membership was dominated by teachers and administrators at segregated African-American schools. Membership of the local chapter in Winston-Salem was organized according to the African-American schools in the Winston-Salem School District at which members taught, referred to as building committees. Other committees, both standing and ad hoc, were organized by activity, including budget, social, programming, retirement, nominating, constitution, membership, and professional ethics/professional rights and responsibilities committees; an executive committee was also elected. Presidents of the WSTA included S.L. Humphrey (1958-1959), Glennie Hall (1959-1961), Lorenza Dixon (1961-1962), William E. Earl (1962-1964), Emma Duren (1964-1968), and B.N. Cook (1968-1970). In 1963, the Winston-Salem School District merged with the Forsyth County district, and the WSTA officially changed its name to the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Teachers Association.

In 1966, the national organization which the NCTA represented, the American Teachers Association (ATA), merged with the National Education Association (NEA), a predominantly white organization. For the next 4 years, the NCTA and its white counterpart, the NCEA, struggled to do the same on the state level. Thus, discussions of the merger dominated WSTA proceedings during the latter part of the decade. The WSTA designated a Committee of Forty to represent the organization at negotiations with the local NCEA chapter. In July 1970, the NCTA and NCEA officially merged. By 1971, all the local chapters had been integrated as well. During this period, integration of Forsyth County Schools was also a primary concern of the WSTA. From 1966 to 1970, the group frequently addressed issues such as how to organize black teachers at white schools, teacher reassignments, salaries, and racial equality in hiring. In 1958, the WSTA had 350 members, and by 1965 it had 487 members, but following the integration of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools, WSTA membership declined.

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Collection Overview

The WSTA Records, primarily contained in a bound minute book, document the group's membership, finances, and activities from 1958 to 1970. From 1958 to 1966, the minutes primarily concern administrative aspects of the organization, especially officer elections, committee appointments, financial and budget information, dues collection, and selection of delegates to the annual National Education Association (NEA) and North Carolina Teachers Association (NCTA) conferences. Although most recorded events were business meetings, the minutes do note speeches, performances, and presentations that were occasionally a part of WSTA programming. In the back of the minute book can be found lists of committee members, officers, and receipts from 1959 to 1966.

In the fall of 1966, the focus of WSTA meetings became school integration. Subsequent related events noted in the minutes include the 1967 School Board Salary Proposal, a teacher sanction, public and NCTA elections, WSTA representation of African-American teachers in white schools and vice versa, and questionnaires regarding the racial composition of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools. Fundraising for Hammocks Beach, a recreational facility for African-Americans supported by the NCTA, is also noted several times. Also prominent in the records are merger negotiations with the North Carolina Education Association (NCEA) and its local chapter, which began to do cooperative projects with the NCTA and WTSA between 1968 and 1970. This collection also contains one folder of minutes and correspondence related to WSTA activities during the 1969-1970 school year.

Online Catalog Headings

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Container List