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Storyline · 1983–1985

David Garrow's reappointment case, 1983–1985

In 1983 UNC's political science department declined to reappoint David J. Garrow, a historian of Martin Luther King Jr., after a 10 to 9 faculty vote. Students gathered more than 2,500 signatures and Coretta Scott King protested, but his appeals failed through the Board of Governors in 1984, and he left for City College of New York. American Civil Liberties Union lawyers represented him in the appeals.

1983–1985 Filed under UNC & Campus Life 7 dated events

After UNC's political science faculty voted 10 to 9 on March 21, 1983 against reappointing assistant professor David J. Garrow, author of two books on Martin Luther King Jr., chairman James W. Prothro decided not to renew his contract when it ended in 1984, faulting his scholarship and its fit with public law. Garrow said in a memo that his criticism of University policies lay behind the decision. A student committee began circulating petitions for his reappointment on April 6, questioning how much teaching counted at UNC, and within two weeks gave more than 2,500 signatures to acting dean David H. Moreau and Chancellor Christopher C. Fordham III. On April 18 Coretta Scott King wrote President William Friday, Fordham and Dean Samuel Williamson to protest, and a King Center spokesman said the decision implied the University did not consider the study of civil rights important. Prothro had denied Garrow's request for reconsideration on April 11, and on April 29 Moreau upheld the decision; Garrow carried his appeal to the Faculty Hearings Committee and on to the trustees. On March 16, 1984 the Board of Governors, the last step in the UNC system, turned down his appeal, its panel finding, as the trustees had, credible evidence for the decision and no proof of the personal malice and free speech violations he had charged. By May 24 Garrow had accepted an assistant professorship at City College of New York and was to resign from UNC on August 31. Prothro called his work closer to investigative journalism than scholarship, which Garrow disputed. In March 1985 the Daily Tar Heel, looking back on what it called an 18-month appeal, reported that American Civil Liberties Union lawyers had represented Garrow, whose books included Protest at Selma and The FBI and Martin Luther King Jr.

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The events, date by date

Every statement above comes from these dated entries in the chronology. Each links to its source.

  1. UNC's political science chairman refuses to reappoint David Garrow After the political science faculty voted 10-9 on March 21, 1983, against reappointing assistant professor David J. Garrow, author of two books on Martin Luther King Jr., chairman James W. Prothro decided not to renew his contract when it ended in 1984, faulting his scholarship and its fit with public law. Garrow said in a memo that his criticism of University policies lay behind the decision; on April 11 Prothro denied his request for reconsideration, and Garrow took his appeal to acting arts and sciences dean David H. Moreau. Place: Political science department, Chapel Hill · Also named: David J. Garrow, James W. Prothro, David H. Moreau, Martin Luther King Jr.Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, April 14, 1983, p. 1
  2. UNC's political science faculty votes 10 to 9 against keeping David Garrow A panel of political science professors voted 10 to 9 not to retain assistant professor David Garrow, author of Protest at Selma and The FBI and Martin Luther King Jr., beginning an 18-month appeal; more than 500 students signed a protest and Coretta Scott King wrote to the University in his support. Place: Department of Political Science, University, Chapel Hill · Also named: David Garrow, Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 15, 1985, p. 1
  3. Students and Coretta Scott King press UNC to keep David Garrow A student committee began circulating petitions on April 6, 1983, calling for political science professor David J. Garrow to be reappointed and questioning how much teaching counted at UNC, and within two weeks gave more than 2,500 signatures to acting dean David Moreau and Chancellor Christopher Fordham. Coretta Scott King wrote President William Friday, Fordham and Dean Samuel Williamson on April 18 protesting the decision; a spokesman for the King Center said it implied the University did not consider the study of civil rights important. People: Christopher C. Fordham III, William C. Friday Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Coretta Scott King, David J. Garrow, Christopher Fordham, David Moreau, Samuel WilliamsonSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, April 26, 1983, p. 1
  4. The acting arts and sciences dean upholds the decision not to reappoint David Garrow In a letter dated April 29, 1983, David H. Moreau, acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, turned down assistant professor David J. Garrow's appeal and upheld political science chairman James W. Prothro's decision not to reappoint him when his contract ran out in 1984. The department faculty had voted 10-9 against reappointment on March 21, and Prothro had judged Garrow's civil rights scholarship insufficient; Garrow, author of two books on the civil rights movement, carried his appeal to the Faculty Hearings Committee. Place: College of Arts and Sciences, University, Chapel Hill · Also named: David J. Garrow, David H. Moreau, James W. ProthroSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, May 26, 1983, p. 1
  5. UNC Board of Governors turns down David Garrow's appeal of his nonreappointment The Board of Governors denied political science professor David J. Garrow's appeal, the last step in the UNC system, about eight months after it reached the board; its panel found, as the trustees had, credible evidence for the decision and no proof of the personal malice and free speech violations Garrow had charged. Garrow, author of a prize-winning book on the Selma voting rights campaign, would leave when his term ended in December 1984 and said he would decide within a month whether to sue. Place: UNC Board of Governors, Chapel Hill · Also named: David J. Garrow · Also mentions: UNC systemSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 19, 1984, p. 1
  6. David Garrow, denied reappointment at UNC, takes a post at City College of New York Political scientist David Garrow, a historian of Martin Luther King Jr. whose reappointment the UNC political science faculty denied 10-9 in 1983, accepted an assistant professorship at City College of New York and was to resign from UNC on August 31. His appeals to the UNC trustees and the Board of Governors had failed; department chairman James W. Prothro called his work closer to investigative journalism than scholarship, which Garrow disputed. Place: UNC, Chapel Hill · Also named: David Garrow, James W. Prothro, Martin Luther King Jr.Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, May 24, 1984, p. 1
  7. The UNC Board of Governors rejects David Garrow's tenure appeal The Board of Governors turned down the last appeal of political scientist David Garrow, a historian of Martin Luther King Jr., whom his department had voted 10 to 9 in March 1983 not to keep. Garrow, represented by American Civil Liberties Union lawyers, said the decision rested on his criticism of University policy; department chairman James Prothro had called his work closer to journalism than scholarship. Place: University, Chapel Hill · Also named: David Garrow, James Prothro, Martin Luther King Jr.Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 15, 1985, p. 1

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People with a page of their own whom the dated events above name, those named most often first.

Further reading

No indexed work is about this storyline itself yet. These are the most widely held histories of the theme it is filed under, so they may not discuss it. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

Background on UNC & Campus Life · the most widely held histories of the theme this storyline is filed under; they may not discuss it

Carolina Basketball: A Century of Excellence

Lucas, Adam · 2010 · University of North Carolina Press

Adam Lucas marks one hundred years of basketball at the University of North Carolina in this illustrated history, published by UNC Press in 2010 in association with the athletics department. Chapters follow the program from the game's arrival on campus and the 'White Phantoms' of the Southern Conference through the founding of the ACC, the 1957 season, Dean Smith's changes to the game and the title seasons of 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009, closing with a century of statistics. 289 pages.

The Blue Divide: Duke, North Carolina, and the Battle on Tobacco Road

Moore, Johnny; Chansky, Art · 2014 · Triumph Books

The Duke and North Carolina basketball rivalry written together by Johnny Moore and Art Chansky, the latter a sports reporter who has followed it since his student days at UNC. The book opens with the 2014 season and moves through recruiting battles old and new, 'Black and Blue Sunday', 'Blood and Roses', and chapters on the rivalry's heroes, leaders and teachers, with a foreword by Jay Bilas and a photo gallery. Published by Triumph Books in 2014, 289 pages.

Miss Mary's Money

Jones, H. G. · 2014 · McFarland & Co.

H. G. Jones follows the fortune of Mary Ruffin Smith (1814-1885), the unmarried heiress whose Orange and Chatham County lands passed at her death to the University of North Carolina and the Episcopal Church. Chapters profile her grandfather Francis Jones, then trace the bequest through a quarrel among Episcopalians over Price Creek, the Chapel of the Cross and the university's buildings. A December 1885 New York Times report called the gift money; Jones shows it was land. Published by McFarland in 2014, 231 pages.

The Chronicles of the Bicentennial Observance of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tepper, Steven J. · 1998

Steven J. Tepper's chronicle of how the University of North Carolina marked its bicentennial in 1993 and 1994. An appendix reprints the University Day speeches of October 12, 1993, given by Paul Hardin, James B. Hunt Jr., C.D. Spangler, William C. Friday, Charles Kuralt and President Bill Clinton, plus bicentennial addresses by Li Lu, Francis S. Collins and Richard J. Richardson. Published by the university in Chapel Hill, 1998; 284 pages.

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William Friday

Link, William A. · 1995

Biography of William C. Friday, president of the University of North Carolina system, by historian William A. Link, published by UNC Press in 1995 with the subtitle power, purpose, and American higher education. It covers Friday's career and the history of the university at Chapel Hill and statewide. Part of the Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection.

Chapel Hill in Plain Sight

Athas, Daphne · 2010 · Eno Publishers

Twelve essays by novelist Daphne Athas (1923-2020) on the Chapel Hill she knew across the twentieth century. Subjects include Carrboro as 'the Paris of the Piedmont', philosopher Horace Williams, Betty Smith writing in Chapel Hill, Junius Scales, Ab Abernethy and the Intimate Bookshop, Richard Wright's visit, and a set of Chapel Hill murders. Published 2010, 243 pages with illustrations.

What it means to be a Tar Heel: Roy Williams and North Carolina's greatest players

Fowler, Scott · 2010 · Triumph Books

Scott Fowler gathers recollections from Carolina basketball players, decade by decade from the 1950s to the 2000s, organized around Roy Williams and the question in the title. Contributors include Lennie Rosenbluth, Larry Brown, Billy Cunningham, Charlie Scott, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Brad Daugherty, Eric Montross, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Raymond Felton and Sean May, each entry giving position and playing years. Published 2010 by Triumph Books of Chicago, 270 pages, here as an e-book.

The Campus of the First State University

Henderson, Archibald · 1949

Archibald Henderson's history of the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, its buildings and grounds from the founding in the 1790s onward. Henderson, a professor of mathematics and a prolific historian of the university, wrote it in the years around the university's sesquicentennial. Published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1949, 412 pages with illustrations and bibliographical footnotes.

Reviewed in The Journal of Southern History (1949), South Atlantic Quarterly (1950).

The Woman Who Rang the Bell: The Story of Cornelia Spencer Phillips

Russell, Charles Phillips · 1949

Charles Phillips Russell's biography of Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), the Chapel Hill writer remembered for ringing the bell of South Building when the university reopened in 1875 after its closure during Reconstruction. It doubles as a history of Chapel Hill and the university. Published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1949, 293 pages with illustrations.

Reviewed in Journal of American History (1949).

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Friends of the Orange County Public Library. “David Garrow's reappointment case, 1983–1985.” Orange County Indexed, https://focplnc.org/orange-county-books/storylines/garrow-reappointment-storyline-1983/. Accessed October 22, 2026.

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