Andrew Perry Haywood, 1997 November 4

Dr. Andrew "Sam" Haywood discusses his role as principal of Independence and West Charlotte High Schools and as chairman of county high school principals during the turbulent years of desegregation. He describes the benefits of desegregation and recounts some of the challenges he and his teachers faced, including the school board's continued divisiveness and the teachers' daily struggle to provide an equal educational opportunity for all students. Dr. Haywood also explains the significance of teacher training programs, which specifically addressed how to handle situations involving students from different racial backgrounds. Further, he recounts his own efforts as school administrator to foster better student relations amongst students from different backgrounds. He also explains how West Charlotte was able to serve as a national model for successful public school integration and he describes their outreach work with South Boston High School in Massachusetts. Dr. Haywood concludes his interview by discussing the problems with race relations that persisted at the time of the interview, and he emphasizes the importance of helping students understand others from different cultural and racial backgrounds.