Dominant and Shadow Narratives Regarding the Desegregation of North Carolina Public Higher Education

Abstract

Objective: This article reports on a study of archival legal and administrative texts generated during desegregation litigation instituted during the 1970s to enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The specific focus of the research was on North Carolina and actions taken by the University of North Carolina and the state’s Department of Community Colleges. Method: The research method guiding data collection and analysis was hermeneutics and narrative policy analysis. Results: This inquiry revealed the limited but significant role played by the state’s community colleges. Contributions: These findings illuminate the hierarchy that organizes some state’s public higher education systems and the power centers within them.