Inventory of the David Schenck Papers, 1953-1964

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Biographical Note

Greensboro Mayor David Schenck was born 7 January 1927 in Greensboro, N.C., and was the great-grandson of Judge David Schenck, a prominent 19th century lawyer and politician in Greensboro. Schenck received a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University in 1947 and attended the business school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1948. Schenck's father, Paul W. Schenck, founded an insurance business in Greensboro in 1912, which Schenck joined with his brother Paul W. Schenck Jr. in 1948. Upon his father's death in 1950, Schenck became owner-manager of Schenck and Company. Schenck continued in the insurance business into the 1960s and from 1960 to 1961 he served as vice president of the North Carolina Association of Insurance Agents.

In 1959, Schenck was elected to the Greensboro City Council where he served as chair of the Transportation Committee and later on the Mayor's Special Committee on Human Relations and Race Relations in 1960. On 8 May 1961, Schenck was elected mayor of Greensboro. He was reelected in 1963 and served until 1965. During his tenure as mayor, Schenck witnessed mass civil rights demonstrations by African-American students and others in Greensboro, culminating in his June 1963 decision to urge Greensboro businesses to voluntarily integrate their facilities. Schenck's actions during the events of 1963 were highly publicized and drew praise and criticism from pro-integrationists and segregationists alike.

Schenck and his wife Doris had a daughter, also Doris, and two sons, David Jr., and Kenneth. Schenck died in 1970 at age 43 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Collection Overview

Papers of Greensboro, N.C., businessman, politician, and mayor David Schenck. Material includes Schenck's correspondence, texts of statements given to the press, appointment books, memoranda, notes, clippings, and other items mostly related to his handling of the 1963 civil rights demonstrations in Greensboro that led to integration of the city's public accommodations. Correspondents include members of activist organizations such as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Greensboro A&T Alumni Association; Greensboro businessmen; and a number of concerned citizens. Many letters and telegrams are specifically in response to Schenck's 7 June 1963 pro-integration statement that "selection of customers purely by race is outdated, morally unjust, and not in keeping with either democratic or Christian philosophy." Other items include reports, resolutions, meeting agendas and other material of the Greensboro City Council and the Commission on Human Relations; annotated lists of Greensboro businesses noting whether or not they had agreed to integrate their facilities; and a recorded telephone conversation between Schenck and North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford dated 24 May 1963.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Letters to and from Greensboro Mayor David Schenck mostly concerning the 1963 civil rights demonstrations in Greensboro and integration of the city's public accommodations. On 7 June 1963, Schenck issued a statement to the Greensboro business community that "selection of customers purely by race is outdated, morally unjust, and not in keeping with either democratic or Christian philosophy." Many letters are either recommendations for settling the demonstrations or responses to Schenck's 7 June statement. Correspondents include members of activist organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Greensboro A&T Alumni Association; Greensboro businessmen; and a number of local citizens. Also included is a copy of a 14 June 1963 letter from Schenck to President Kennedy thanking the president for quoting portions of Schenck's 7 June statement in an address to the United States Conference of Mayors in Hawaii.

Correspondence chiefly concerns the denial of applications from African Americans wishing to serve on the Greensboro Police Reserve, wage discrepancies between African-American and white city truck drivers, and the denial of applications from African Americans seeking to join the Greensboro Tennis Association.

Telegrams include notes of support and criticism for Schenck's position on integration, suggestions for settling the demonstrations, and continued protests from pro-integration groups such as Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Statements concerning civil rights issues from WRAL-TV in Raleigh, the Southern Regional Council, and the Committee for Christian Social Action. Also, a transcript of a speech by Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Chair William A. Thomas titled "Wake Greensboro" recounting the history and progress made by civil rights activism in the city.

Motions, reports and statements regarding civil rights demonstrations in Greensboro and integration of the city's public accommodations. Includes a report filed by the City Council in response to a resolution issued by Greensboro National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President George C. Simkins calling for integration of public accommodations, equal employment opportunities for African Americans seeking city jobs, African-American representation on the City Boards of Commissions, and appointment of a permanent bi-racial commission in Greensboro.

Member rosters, correspondence, meeting agendas, motions, subcommittee reports, forms, and other material pertaining to the Greensboro Commission on Human Relations. Mayor Schenck appointed the Committee on Human Relations on 22 May 1963. On 1 July 1963 the City Council of Greensboro enacted an ordinance establishing a "Commission on Human Relations."

The Durham Interim Committee was established on 22 May 1963 to address civil rights demonstration in Durham, North Carolina. A 19-page booklet contains material presented at the Committee's first report to the citizens of Durham on 4 June 1963.

Notes include handwritten drafts of statements, information recorded during telephone conversations, and annotated lists of motels, restaurants and other businesses in Greensboro noting whether or not they intend to integrate their facilities.

Newsletters, reports, booklets, and pamphlets mostly concerning civil rights issues. Material includes a poem entitled "The Black Spangled Banner," a 1964 report of the United States Conference of Mayors, a booklet titled "The Ugly Truth About the NAACP," and a pamphlet providing information on Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

Materials unrelated to civil rights issues including a 21-page script for a tour of Guilford County, North Carolina dated 28 July 1961, text of a 1963 speech by Schenck on a bond issue, and a memo from Guilford County historian James MacLamroc to the Greensboro Planning Commission.

Material concerns the publication of William H. Chafe's history of the Greensboro civil rights movement entitled Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom (1980).