Just today, I began to explore more of the Harry Golden Papers at UNCC Special Collections…and I found some neat stuff! The Golden Papers constitute the largest collection held at the university. If you’re looking for some good primary source materials to dig into, I highly recommend the Golden Papers.
Harry Golden seemingly had his hand in every important issue of his day. He actively supported civil rights during the mid-twentieth century and wrote several books on the subject. Along with his many published books, he edited The Carolina Israelite and involved himself in Democratic politics. He knew everyone and it it appears that everyone knew him (maybe not everyone, but many people worth knowing!).
Based on a tip from our Special Collections Librarian, I looked into the famous “Golden Vertical Negro Plan” for part of my research. I had heard of this before, but not in great detail. I found the original Carolina Israelite this famous satire appeared and found the contents fascinating. In 1956, with the Brown v. Board of Education decision fresh on everyone’s mind in North Carolina, Governor Luther Hodges used stalling tactics to keep the state’s schools from allowing black children to attend school with white children. The Pearsall Plan, which was discussed in an earlier blog, was the means by which this could be “legally” accommodated.” Golden saw through the hypocrisy and formed his own “plan” that would solve the problem and allow for pain-free desegregation.
Golden noted that whenever blacks and whites stood together, there seemed to be no problem. Whether it was standing in line at the store, the bank, or anywhere in society, Golden pointed out that rarely did trouble ensue when different people simply “stood” together. It was only when African Americans tried sitting down somewhere when white feathers ruffled. So for school integration to work, Golden proposed that all desks be removed so that children would stand to learn all day, every day. Standing beside one another, as Golden saw it, would naturally end all the trouble of desegregation since black and white children would not be seated next to each other. “Since no one in the South pays the slightest attention to a VERTICAL NEGRO, this will completely solve our problem.”
A la Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” Golden used satire to illuminate and poke fun at the race question in North Carolina’s public schools.
Below, you can read the original piece. The left edge is cut off because the paper on that side cannot be scanned without damaging the paper in the bound volume. The original exists in the Harry Golden Papers at UNCC Special Collections.