Andy Baxter talks about his experiences as a student at West Charlotte High School, where he was student council president in his senior year. Mr. Baxter reflects on his experiences with racial integration at the school, speaking at length about the different levels of integration in various areas of school life, including academics, staffing, extracurricular activities, social functions, and the lunchroom. He notes that the level of integration varied significantly across these different areas; clubs and certain social groupings were more diverse, but there were few black students enrolled in academically rigorous classes. Mr. Baxter credits West Charlotte for the effort made towards integration and towards building a respectful culture within the school. In reflection, Mr. Baxter suggests that the apparent successes of West Charlotte during the 1980s may have been due to the social background of the student body, which was mostly middle or upper middle class irrespective of race.
