- Collection:
- Oral Histories of the American South: The Civil Rights Movement
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Joseph Califano, April 5, 1991
- Creator:
- Califano, Joseph A., 1931-
- Contributor to Resource:
- Link, William A.
Southern Oral History Program - Date of Original:
- 1991-04-05
- Subject:
- United States--Officials and employees
College integration--North Carolina
University of North Carolina (System)
Federal-state controversies--North Carolina
Higher education and state--North Carolina
United States. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Office for Civil Rights - People:
- Califano, Joseph A., Jr., 1931-
Friday, William C. (William Clyde) - Location:
- United States, North Carolina, 35.50069, -80.00032
- Medium:
- transcripts
sound recordings
oral histories (literary works) - Type:
- Text
Sound - Format:
- text/html
text/xml
audio/mpeg - Description:
- Joseph Califano served as the Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) from 1977 to 1979. In this interview, he discusses the main considerations and objectives of the criteria for desegregating higher education, particularly in North Carolina. Califano assesses former University of North Carolina Chancellor William Friday's general policy-making style, arguing that Friday's usual progressive thinking was restricted by the university's Board of Governors, the state's white political establishment, and the large number of black colleges throughout the state. Califano further explains how his anti-tobacco stance raised the ire of North Carolina officials. Because of these factors, Friday and North Carolina politicians resisted Califano's involvement in the state's higher education system. Contrary to North Carolinians' perceptions, Califano argues that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) did not single out UNC for its reluctance to desegregate. He contends that the Nixon and Ford administrations failed to enforce civil rights laws, which led to an increased involvement of the federal courts. In turn, the federal courts applied significant pressure on him to pursue the desegregation of higher education. Califano admits that he sought to reframe how the OCR considered cases and remove the Office from the control of federal courts. Toward the end of the interview, Califano evaluates his tenure as a HEW official.
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. - Metadata URL:
- http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/L-0125/menu.html
- Language:
- eng
- Extent:
- Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 21, 2008).
Interview participants: Joseph Califano, interviewee; William Link, interviewer.
Duration: 00:24:10.
This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.
Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.
Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview. - Contributing Institution:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project)
- Rights:
-
