Wayne County To Examine Segregation In Goldsboro Schools

The committee will likely be made up of commissioners, Goldsboro City Council members, school board members and town leaders.

Goldsboro's mayor says the school system is sick and needs more than a Band-aid.

"Some people treat it like the 3000-pound elephant in the middle of the room that no one wants to address," said Mayor Al King.

Seven months ago, King and the Goldsboro City Council sent a letter to the county commissioners asking them to take the lead in dealing with segregation in city schools.

Now, veteran Wayne County Commissioner Atlas Price has a plan to bring local leaders to the table to talk about it. He calls it the 20-20 Vision Committee.

"The only way to accomplish something is to get everyone involved you possibly could," Price said. "There's always somebody at fault, somebody caused it, somebody did it. They have all kinds of different excuses for it. I think it's time to drop excuses and accusations and make some progress in doing something right."

Nearly all of the students who walk through the doors of Goldsboro High School every day are black, one reason why it is important to have school board members involved.

It remains to be seen whether or not they will come to the table, but at least one school board member has said he welcomes the conversation.

Those who started the effort months ago are pleased with Price's idea.

"At least it lets us know that all of our talk did not fall on ears that were closed up," said Sylvia Barnes of the NAACP

Price hopes the Vision Committee will have its first meeting in early December.