Football Team Was Integral to Integration

For over a hundred years black children in Transylvania County attended separate schools from white children.  With limited resources the dedicated teachers of French Broad, Everett, Glade Creek, Shady Grove and the Brevard #2 Colored School (later Rosenwald) provided elementary age students with the education to move on to the next level.

Transylvania County did not have a high school for black students though.  These students were bused to Ninth Avenue High School in Hendersonville.  Some students went to live with family in other locations or attended boarding schools to further their education.

In 1960 the Transylvania Citizens Improvement Organization (T.C.I.O.) was created “to promote the civic, educational, political and economic opportunities for African American Citizens in Brevard and Transylvania County.  The organization made an immediate impact by fighting racial discrimination in both private and public institutions, and by building coalitions with white citizens that created an avenue for all to support a cause that helped to shape the future of Brevard and Transylvania County.”

Their first objective was the integration of Transylvania County Schools.  Beyond integration was the concern that high school students had to travel to Hendersonville to attend school even though their parents paid taxes in Transylvania County.

Although the Transylvania County Board of Education denied attempts to integrate the school system the door was opened a crack when 9 African American students were admitted to Brevard High School in 1962.

 The T.C. I.O. decided to sue the Board of Education to fully integrate Transylvania County School.  In Federal Court in Asheville Judge Wilson Warlick found in their favor and ordered Brevard High and Brevard Junior High to integrate in 1963. 

However, it was not until the 1966-67 school year that the Transylvania County Schools became fully integrated.  Transylvania County was among the first fully integrated school systems in the state of North Carolina.   

One achievement Transylvania County Schools can point to is the integration of the Brevard High football team in the fall of 1963.   Coach Cliff Brookshire invited the black students to try out for the team.  Six made the team, paving the way for Brevard High to become the first integrated high school football team in North Carolina. 

1963 Brevard High Football Team

Brookshire pushed all his players hard but equally.  While there was some opposition both in Brevard and on the road the attitudes began to change with each win.   Paul “Scruggs” Gardin, the first black player to see action, scored the first three times he handled the football.  The team finished the season 10-1-1 and was the AAA Co-Champs.  Brookshire’s leadership and the team bond helped students work through the difficult times on the field, as they traveled and in the hallways and classrooms at school.

Sources for this article included Reflections: TCIO Celebrates 40 Years of Community Service, Brevard...Standing Alone : North Carolina's First Integrated Football Team, The Untold Story and articles by Tyler McCall and Leslie Parker Borhaug in The Heritage of Transylvania County, Volume II.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.