This year marks the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. CHCCS passed a resolution Thursday honoring the family of Stan Vickers, who made that progress possible.
In 1959, Stan Vickers was a 10-year-old boy whose parents wanted him to attend Carrboro Elementary School, then an all-white school. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools denied his request because Vickers was Black.
The board said Vickers should be attending the all-Black, Northside Elementary School. Vickers’ parents, Thomas Lee and Lattice, brought the case all the way up to the U.S. District Court.
On August 4, 1961, Judge Edwin Stanley overturned the school board’s ruling and deemed Vickers should be admitted to the previously all-white school.
The current Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education took time to honor the 60th anniversary of the Vickers decision on Thursday. Chief Communications Officer Jeff Nash said it was a historical contribution to the community.
“On the surface, people will say this is a story about change, this is a story about progress, and it is,” Nash said. “But this is a story about courage, a story about resilience, a story about resolve. It was a tough battle, and his family went through it. Because of that, we’re all in a better place.”
Vickers attended the meeting and shared some reflections on his childhood. He recalls those early days of stepping into Chapel Hill High School and the difficulty of being an outsider at that time.
“There were people who were curious about me more than anything, and then I had people who were just openly hostile,” Vickers said.” I had lunch by myself, I had gym by myself. To some, I’m an anomaly, to others I am a threat, to others I am something less than human.”
Vickers said walking down the halls in those early days was emotionally, and sometimes physically, painful. Despite the pain, Vickers said he remains grateful that he was given the opportunity to learn so much.
“While it was difficult, many of the lessons that I learned there have served me well as I’ve gone on,” Vickers said. “The one regret that I have is that not everyone had those same opportunities.”
Vickers said some of his emotional turmoil during that time was from leaving the all-Black school because it meant leaving his friends that he grew up with. But he said his parents and community supported him in getting to where he wanted to be.
Those same issues that Vickers fought for — equity and inclusion — still impact students today. CHCCS board member Ashton Powell said he believes there is still a long way to go in making Vickers’ vision into a reality.
“Students are still today feeling remnants of that, and still continuing as we strive to get better and to improve,” Powell said. “To finally get the equity that we espouse, and we talk about, there’s still a lot of children that have not experienced that.”
Vickers said he believes the way to achieve equity is to build a supportive environment where diversity is encouraged and celebrated both at home and in the classroom.
Photo by Logan Savage/ The Daily Tar Heel
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