Edward Flud Burrows (August 17, 1917 – December 17, 1998) was an American conscientious objector and peace activist.
was raised on a cotton farm in
Sumter County, South Carolina
Sumter County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,556. In a 2018 census estimate, the population was 106,512. Its county seat is Sumter.
Sumter County comprises the Sumter, Sout ...
. He completed undergraduate studies at
Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexingto ...
, earned a master's degree from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
, and a doctoral degree from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
. He later received a Rosenwald Scholarship to complete doctoral studies in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
As a
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Burrows was sent to a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
Friends camp in the mountains of North Carolina. Later, while in Florida, he served a prison sentence for refusing to carry a draft card. After his release from prison, he spent a year at the Race Relations Institute at
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
. In 1948, while completing research for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Burrows was hired as a history teacher at
Guilford College
Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...
, in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
. At Guilford, he was active in promoting integration, especially as a member of the Faculty Forum, an interracial organization with membership from local colleges. As a professor, he was one of the first winners of the Excellence in Teaching Award presented by the Guilford College Board of Visitors.
Following his retirement in 1979, Burrows participated in an organization promoting fairness in the investigation of the November 3, 1979,
Nazi–Klan shootout at an anti-Klan rally held by the
Communist Workers Party. His autobiography, ''Flud: One Southerner's Story'', was published in 1989. Burrows died on December 17, 1998, at the age of 81 years.
References
Finding Aid for the Edward Burrows Papers at
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...
Greensboro VOICES Oral History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Edward
1917 births
1998 deaths
American Christian pacifists
American conscientious objectors
American prisoners and detainees
Guilford College faculty
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government