Fuquay Varina program recalls local school integration and urges 'participation' beyond proximity

Fuquay Varina — Alumni, educators and municipal leaders gathered at the Fuquay Varina Arts Center on May 14 for "Inspirations and Integration," a community program that paired performance with first-person testimony about the town’s school desegregation. The afternoon combined spoken word, choir, panel conversation and a mayoral address that framed integration as sustained participation, not merely attendance.

The program opened with a spoken-word piece performed by Carolyn Evans that drew a line from scripture and Supreme Court rulings to everyday life, urging children to "stand there tall and proud." Moderator Jay Dwayne Garnett framed the event as storytelling that connects national civil-rights milestones to local memory. "We reflect on a pivotal time in the Fuquay Varina area when students from Fuquay Varina Consolidated High School integrated with Fuquay Verina High School," Garnett said during the introduction.

Panelists who experienced the transition firsthand described a mix of opportunity and hardship. Miss Shirley Simmons, a longtime social-studies teacher and student-council sponsor, said prior experience in integrated classrooms had convinced her integration could work but noted there was little formal planning at the local level. "We had to sit down together and decide what was ours and what was not ours," Simmons said, describing student councils that met to choose school colors, a song and governance rules.

Carl Trice (class of 1967), one of the first students moved from a consolidated school, said the change arrived with scant advance discussion for students. "We weren’t prepared; there was no conversation to the students," he said, adding that the lack of counseling and planning made the early years awkward for many.

Brenda Davis Cameron (class of 1967) recounted losing traditional senior activities when she was reassigned to Lafayette and described the emotional cost of the change. Other panelists described routine segregation in daily life — for example, separate entrances or waiting areas at pharmacies and doctors’ offices — as the practical pressures that led families to seek change.

Several speakers described intimidation and threats during the transition. One panelist said cross burnings occurred near students’ homes, a claim offered as testimony about the risks faced by children and families during that period. The panelists also said resource disparities complicated integration: consolidated schools frequently received older textbooks and equipment even as students gained access to new electives such as drafting and accounting at receiving schools.

Panelists emphasized student-led solutions as well as pain. To address identity and representation, student councils from merging schools worked together to select a school song, colors and a constitutional framework for shared leadership. Teddy Jones and Gail Woolard, among the first graduating classes of the fully integrated Fuquay Varina High (Class of 1971), described sports and student activities as spaces where connections formed across background lines.

A youth-oriented spoken-word set by Shan Flowsence Harris reiterated the stakes for younger generations and invoked national examples such as the Little Rock Nine and Dorothy Counts as touchstones for the local stories being told. The Fuquay Varina choir performed the alma mater under director Tony Cole before Mayor William "Bill" Harris closed with a civic call to action: "Integration is more than proximity. It's participation," he said, urging structural supports and continued community engagement to translate policy gains into opportunity.

Organizers and panelists called for preserving local records and artifacts; speakers asked attendees to share yearbooks and annuals with local museums to ensure the full local story remains accessible. The program closed with acknowledgments for sponsors including the Fuquay Varina Arts Center, local businesses and the town government.

The event underscored three themes: the individual courage of students and families who crossed racial lines to pursue education; the real costs—emotional, social and physical—some faced during early integration; and a repeated plea that integration be defined by shared participation, access to resources and ongoing civic engagement rather than mere physical coexistence.