Phaedra Holley oral history interview, 2021 July 20
Title
Phaedra Holley oral history interview, 2021 July 20
Creator
Holley, Phaedra Berry (interviewee)
Date
7/20/21
Description
In this interview, Phaedra Holley discusses her time as a student at UNC Charlotte and her life after graduating. [all times approximate]. Growing up in Kinston, North Carolina and attending a private school until high school when local schools integrated. [1 min]. Her decision to attend UNC Charlotte and majoring in mathematics [8 min]. The influence of Dr. Bertha Maxwell-Roddey on the lives of the African-American students on campus at the time. [12 min]. Mrs. Holley discusses how her classmates are still in contact and continue to support each other. [16 Min]. Chartering the first Black sorority on campus, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. [23 min]. Participating in the Black Student Union and Gospel Choir, the importance of the Black Studies (now Africana Studies) department [25 min]. Chauffeuring Shirley Chisholm around campus during her campaign for president [26 min]. Athletics on campus and influencing Cornbread Maxwell to attend UNC Charlotte [28 min]. Her children and life after she graduated early [32 min]. Her experience as a Black student on campus and how the Black students became a close knit community [36 min]. The upcoming 50th anniversary of chartering the Iota Rho chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. [43 min]. Life after college and becoming a mathematics teacher for middle, high school, and some community college students. [54 min].
Subject
1060-2020
College students
Universities and colleges--Alumni and alumnae
African Americans--Education
School integration
Holley, Phaedra Berry
Maxwell, Bertha, 1930
Cone, Bonnie E., 1907-2003
Chisholm, Shirley, 1924-2005
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Lenoir Community College
Johnson C. Smith University
Barber-Scotia College
Source
North Carolina Digital Heritage Center
Type
moving image
References
https://repository.charlotte.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A7974
Collection
Citation
Holley, Phaedra Berry (interviewee), “Phaedra Holley oral history interview, 2021 July 20,” Center for Knit and Crochet Digital Repository, accessed June 10, 2026, https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/39357.
Added by Rebecca Keyel

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