“It Was Beautiful and It Was Our School”: Examining the Legacy of Segregated Public School Buildings of North Carolina and the Materiality of Racialized Educational Spaces"

This essay won or received an honorable mention for The Boothe Prize for excellence in first-year writing. The Boothe Prize recognizes and rewards outstanding expository and argumentative writing by undergraduate students in first-year classes that satisfy the WR 1 requirement. In each award-winning essay, student writers demonstrate clarity of argument, excellent integration of research-based evidence, and compelling prose style.
Felicia Yan's paper provides a thoughtful exploration of the intersection between architecture, education, and racial inequality through the lens of historic school buildings in North Carolina. The author reflects on personal experiences attending both historically segregated and integrated schools, highlighting how these physical spaces embody the legacy of racial segregation and its lasting impact on communities.