John Lafferty oral history interview, 2004 October 11
Description
John Lafferty recounts his experience attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the late 1960s. A founding member of UNC Charlotte's track and field team, he discusses the team's creation, the camaraderie between the teammates, and how it was his first real experience in an integrated social group. Mr. Lafferty discusses his role as chief justice in the student court trial of his former teammate Ben Chavis, and how Mr. Chavis was being targeted by state law enforcement for his political activity. He shares his view that the school administration was being pressured by the state to bring charges against Mr. Chavis. Mr. Lafferty also describes how Vice Chancellor Bonnie Cone would go to extraordinary lengths to help her students achieve their goals, and he recounts her role in de-escalating tensions between students and the Black Panthers when Stokely Carmichael spoke on campus in 1968.
