NC Wesleyan College Welcomes Lyndon Johnson to Rocky Mount

Looking through the collection of yearbooks from North Carolina Wesleyan College that were recently digitized by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, I was interested in this photo, which shows a group of students welcoming President Lyndon Johnson to Rocky Mount in 1964, the visit that resulted in the now iconic photos of the President and Governor Terry Sanford sitting with a local family on the front steps of their rural home. (There’s a nice recap of the visit on the N&O website).

One of the larger signs in this photo says “Come Back Lynda.” I assume that’s referring to the President’s daughter, Lynda Bird Johnson. Why are they asking her to come back? Did she have a connection to Rocky Mount, or to North Carolina?

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