Dr. James Pleasant spent his childhood in Greenville, North Carolina. When Pleasant was a child, his father, a drug store owner, was robbed and left blind. Pleasant then worked at a local grocery store to help support his family, getting a full scholarship to attend East Carolina. He graduated from East Carolina College in 1957, but as inspired by professor to continue his education until he received his PhD. Dr. Pleasant later worked as a math and computer science professor at East Carolina as well as in Tennessee.

Listen to and read a transcription of his oral history

Citation

Dr. James C. Pleasant and Louise D. Pleasant oral history interview, April 27, 2008. First in the Family Oral History Collection. UA45-05. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/1267