“The teachers met us as we walked into school—they were outside of the building and we saw them when we entered. We could not detour from instruction. They were there to help and set the tone each morning when we arrived.”
Otis Cooper

from Secondary School Study documents:

“Booker T. Washington is a city high school with 600 pupils in grades 8-11. Rocky Mount is one of the largest tobacco markets in the South. The shops of a large railroad are located in Rocky Mount. Seventeen teachers, including a full-time librarian and four vocational arts teachers, enable the school to provide a wide range of curricular activities. The school received regional accreditment in 1937.”

from W. H. Brown & W. A. Robinson,
Serving Negro Schools: A Report on the Secondary School Study (1946)

“BTW was more than a building; it was a true community and we came here to learn. The teachers were like role models for us. They built a strong family among us and we respected them and they respected us."
Delores Battle Powell

Delores Battle Powell

"There were special privileges: seniors were permitted to use the front door when other students had to use the side door. These traditions were part of BTW and something that we would never forget." Maggie L. Gilliam

"I will never forget when it was my time to go through the front door. That was a special tradition at Booker T. Washington High School; only seniors could walk through the front door. How we looked forward to that moment." Lenora Bradley

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