Wolf Tales recording with Elwood and Diane Hill Becton: African American Cultural Center's Harambee 2016, 8 September 2016

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Title:
Wolf Tales recording with Elwood and Diane Hill Becton: African American Cultural Center's Harambee 2016, 8 September 2016
Description:
This recording was conducted in the Talley Student Union on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, at the NCSU African American Cultural Center’s 2016 Harambee event. In the recording, husband and wife Elwood Becton (‘73) and Diane Hill Becton (‘73) discuss: the evolution of the African American Cultural Center (AACC) from their time as freshman in 1969; black students in the Society of Afro-American Culture (SAAC) congregating in the basement of the King Religious Center, then referred to as “The Ghetto;” the need for a place to assemble with other black students on campus; experiences of prejudice and discrimination, including with an advisor, a roommate, and a professor; Sarah Stone, head of the infirmary, a white woman who was an ally for black students on campus; the small and tight-knit community of black students at the time; the evolution of the SAAC and AACC from “The Ghetto” in the King Center basement to The Print Shop (later known as the West Dunn Building) and eventually the Student Annex (later renamed the Witherspoon Student Center); mentors including Dr. Lawrence M. Clark and Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon; Mrs. Becton’s transition from an all-black high school to a large, predominantly white student population at NC State; finding support, stability, and encouragement in the black student community during her time as a student; a professor who accused Mr. Becton of cheating while studying with a graduate teaching assistant; Mrs. Becton meeting and helping to recruit the NC State basketball player David Thompson; Mr. and Mrs. Becton meeting each other through the black student community; and later advocacy for the AACC’s space in the Witherspoon Student Center. Mrs. Becton reads a statement from a board meeting during the years leading up to obtaining space in the Witherspoon Center, where under the leadership of Director Iyailu Moses, the AACC outlined its purpose expressed its need for an established space on campus. Mr. and Mrs. Becton are also founding members of the NCSU Black Alumni Society. [Preferred citation: Wolf Tales recording with Elwood and Diane Hill Becton, 8 September 2016, NCSU Libraries Wolf Tales Recordings, MC 00581, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC]
Topics:
Student Life
University History
Subjects:
Alumni and alumnae
Original Format:
Digital video recording, sound, color
Extent:
0:22:24
Item identifier:
mc00581-wt-becton-20160908
Interviewer:
Ferris, Virginia L. more info on Ferris, Virginia L. 
Interviewee:
Becton, Elwood more info on Becton, Elwood 
Interviewee:
Becton, Diane Hill more info on Becton, Diane Hill 
Created Date:
Genre:
Interviews
Oral histories (Document genres)
Names:
North Carolina State University -- Alumni and alumnae more info on North Carolina State University -- Alumni and alumnae 
Harambee Event more info on Harambee Event 
North Carolina State University. African American Cultural Center more info on North Carolina State University. African American Cultural Center 
Becton, Diane Hill more info on Becton, Diane Hill 
Becton, Elwood more info on Becton, Elwood 
North Carolina State University -- Students -- History more info on North Carolina State University -- Students -- History 
Clark, Lawrence M., 1934-2012 more info on Clark, Lawrence M., 1934-2012 
Location:
Raleigh (N.C.)
Digital Project:
Wolf Tales