Title: Laura Marie Leary Elliott Oral History, October 17, 2008.

Identifier: UA95.14   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/61825)

Description: In this oral history interview Laura Marie Leary Elliott speaks about how she became the first African American to enroll at East Carolina College as a full time student. Elliot describes her parents involvement in the civil rights movement, their association with Dr. Andrew A. Best, and their wishes that she attend ECC. Stories about her experiences as a student include the registrar saying she would "will never make it here," other students shoving her in the dining room line, being mistaken for custodial staff, and other adverse interactions with other students and faculty. Elliot describes feelings of isolation and lack of support from the college, and how her fears of violence prevented her from participating in most student activities. In addition to her parents, she received support from her aunt Martha and uncle Aaron Leary and Dr. Andrew A. Best, Rev. John Taylor, her pastor, and a member of the custodial staff named Mary Taff. 10 years after graduating, she learned that while she was attending ECC, the custodial and groundskeeping staff cooperated to watch over her as she made her way around campus. A number of other Black students attended ECC in the years following Elliot's admittance, and she describes her interactions with them and the Greenville Black community. Elliot also speaks about briefly teaching at Southwest High School in Bertie County, N.C., the minimal press attention given to the integration of ECC, and the recognition she has received from East Carolina University and its students since 2002. Interviewer: Dr. David Dennard.