Created by Mariah Adams
Description: Elizabeth City State University has been shaping the minds of many young African Americans for many years. As a port of higher learning, this institution prides itself on the excellence of its students and student athletes. Founded in 1891 ECSU is a place where young adults can become outstanding professionals and citizens. From 1958 to 1968 the ECSU, known then as Elizabeth City State Teachers College experienced a significant amount of growth under the leadership of its fifth president, Dr. Walter Nathaniel Ridley.[1] As a true scholar and advocate for civil rights. Dr. Ridley was deemed a bit radical in his efforts to improve the quality of education that his students received. Refusing the hand me downs from Raleigh, he also ruffled many feathers with the trustees that frequented the campus.
During this time Dr. Ridley had much to do with not only the expansion of the institution but also expanding the efforts of the civil rights movement of the 1960s on campus, even to the basketball court. The men’s basketball team of Elizabeth City State College was known for their talent and skill on the court, under the leadership of the great coach Bobby L. Vaughn, a distinguished member of the athletic department, the team was also ready to expand its horizons.
In the 1968 season, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) offered Elizabeth City a bid to participate in the tournament of that year. The NAIA was known for its introduction of black players into an all-white tournament of small colleges and universities[2]. Yet, some of the institutions had yet to integrate African Americans. For this Dr. Ridley was persistence in his rejection to the association’s invitation of participation. The school was devastated, the players were devastated and many thought Dr. Ridley had made a mistake but as always, he stood firm in his decision. This issue hit close to home for Dr. Ridley. Ridley was the first African American to earn a degree from a traditional southern white college or university. The man who had been kept out of school because of the color of his skin didn’t mark his success by the number of students, books or buildings he added but by the lives he changed.
As stated before Dr. Ridley was an advocate of civil rights, so much so that during his time as president he made sure Elizabeth City State College admitted its first white student. He was never afraid to voice his outlook of race relations in North Carolina. In a interview in 1964 he stated that North Carolina had “… a racial climate with more problems and more “possibilities” than anywhere else in the south.” He would also state “Schools are not equal in democracy… Negro schools are not equal to White schools… we must catch up to the other schools, and all students must have the opportunity to take responsibilities because this is a part of a democracy.”[3] For the student athletes of the men’s basketball team this incident though devastating, was a reminder that the civil rights movement was going to change the lives of present and future generations. Although Dr. Ridley resigned, and President Thorpe was installed the men’s team of 1969 would go on to win both the CIAA and NAIA tournaments the players would never forget how much the civil rights movement touched every part of life.
[1] Walter Nathaniel Ridley Papers, Elizabeth City [NC] State University Archive, G.R Little Library
[2] NAIA Men’s Basketball Tournament Top 75 Moments (NAIA.org)
http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205360466
[3] Walter Nathaniel Ridley Papers, Elizabeth City [NC] State University Archive, G.R Little Library
Suggested Readings:
Bischoff, Jean. Interview by Mariah Adams. Elizabeth City State University. Oral history. April, 16, 2014.
Walter Nathaniel Ridley Papers, Elizabeth City [NC] State University Archive, G. R. Little Library
Photographs. The Collections. Elizabeth City [NC] State University Archive, G. R. Little Library