Carl Clark interview

Description

In 1955, Dr. Carl Clark (1936-2017) became the first Black student to graduate from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in Maryland. Following his graduation, Dr. Clark earned his bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University in 1958 and became the first person of color to receive a PhD in Physics from the University of South Carolina in 1976. Dr. Clark served as the Dean of Natural Sciences at South Carolina State University from 1959 to 1995 and worked at Morgan State University from 1995 to 2000.

In 1952, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute became Maryland's first public high school to racially integrate the student body. In this oral history interview conducted via phone conversation, Dr. Clark primarily discusses his involvement as as one of 15 Black students involved in the integration. He explains how he came to attend the school and his impressions of his first day, as well as the reactions and protests that followed the Brown v. Board of Education decision.