Letter to the Dean of Men
Dublin Core
Title
Letter to the Dean of Men
Subject
This is a letter from Mrs. R. H Avera, expressing her thoughts against integration at UGA
Description
On January 9th 1961, the University of Georgia began the process of segregation as Charlene Hunter and Hamilton Holmes entered campus. They were the first two black students to have enrolled at UGA to pursue their education. People from all over the country began to write letters expressing their disagreement over the issue to Dean Aderhold who had welcomed them both onto campus.
This letter addressed to Mr. Williams Tate, a member of the Dean of Men, was written by a woman from Augusta on January 18th 1961. In the letter she expresses how “sad” and “shocked” she is at the series of events in the University of Georgia. She considers students and faculty to have been “brainwashed” by ideals such as communism and socialism “instead of American patriotism.” By posing the question, “what has become of the rights of the white people,” she is protesting the manner in which student riots were shut down while the two black students were getting acclimated to campus living.
According to Kristine Taylor’s dissertation on racial violence in the post-war south to post-racial America, Dean Tate received hundreds of letters in which the “bulk of them commended him for his actions.” Taylor’s dissertation reveals that one of the reasons the dean was met with support for his consideration of what was lawful “in the wake of white riots.” However, the letter above shows one among many voices that were opposed to desegregation. Mrs. Avera states that she believes the NAACP “paid huge sums of money to do this terrible thing” and even claims that if Dean Tate were to continue supporting the issue, he has no right to his position of power. Such ideals at the time were the cause of many white riots that took place on the campus of UGA in protest of integration.
This letter addressed to Mr. Williams Tate, a member of the Dean of Men, was written by a woman from Augusta on January 18th 1961. In the letter she expresses how “sad” and “shocked” she is at the series of events in the University of Georgia. She considers students and faculty to have been “brainwashed” by ideals such as communism and socialism “instead of American patriotism.” By posing the question, “what has become of the rights of the white people,” she is protesting the manner in which student riots were shut down while the two black students were getting acclimated to campus living.
According to Kristine Taylor’s dissertation on racial violence in the post-war south to post-racial America, Dean Tate received hundreds of letters in which the “bulk of them commended him for his actions.” Taylor’s dissertation reveals that one of the reasons the dean was met with support for his consideration of what was lawful “in the wake of white riots.” However, the letter above shows one among many voices that were opposed to desegregation. Mrs. Avera states that she believes the NAACP “paid huge sums of money to do this terrible thing” and even claims that if Dean Tate were to continue supporting the issue, he has no right to his position of power. Such ideals at the time were the cause of many white riots that took place on the campus of UGA in protest of integration.
Creator
Mrs. R. H Avera from Augusta, GA
Date
January 18, 1961
Relation
Kristine Taylor. "Racial Violence and the Politics of Innocence: From the Postwar South to Post-Racial
America." University of Washington, 2015, pp. 224-228
America." University of Washington, 2015, pp. 224-228
Format
The file is in the form of a letter and contains the signature of the writer on the bottom of a typed page
Language
English
Type
Still image
Files
Collection
Citation
Mrs. R. H Avera from Augusta, GA, “Letter to the Dean of Men,” Mapping Nature ~ English 1102 Fall 2019, accessed May 17, 2024, https://mapping-nature.org/omeka2019/items/show/69.