“Mr. Pope was so kind and so generous—a Black Moses; we so looked up to him. If we got into trouble, he would go to our home and talk to us there—to ensure that we stayed in school. He made certain that we were treated fairly and had the complete confidence of the teachers and students. If there was a problem, Mr. Pope would straighten it out! He was stern but, in his own way, very kind. He set up an educational system at Booker T. Washington High School that carried us throughout our lives."
Mary W. Dawson

"Whatever age you entered this school, Mr. Pope referred to you as Miss or Mister. We were addressed in a formal way; it made us feel special." Maggie L. Gilliam

    Oliver R. Pope was graduated from Bennett College and furthered his education at Teachers College (Columbia University) and University of Chicago. He worked in the Rocky Mount schools from 1902-1949, including serving as principal at Booker T. Washington High School for 37 years. Pope was elected president of the North Carolina Teachers Association in the mid-1930s, and the O. R. Pope School in Rocky Mount is named in his honor.

    In his 1967 memoir, Chalk Dust, he describes his summer sessions at Teachers College where he attended lectures by William H. Kilpatrick and Bode H. Bode and explored issues of “the conception of needs.”  He also describes the selection process when Booker T. Washington High School was invited to join the Secondary School Study:

    “The participating school in the Secondary School Study were selected upon the same basis as the famous Thirty School Study [also known as the Eight Year Study] prior to this, and, like it, the study was underwritten by the General Education Board. For weeks, I had watched the selection of the schools, hoping that our school would be one of the sixteen.

Then one morning, my almost dead hope came leaping to life. A telephone call and a special delivery letter a few hours later asked me to see the superintended about the accepting the invitation. . . . I almost tripped my way to Mr. Banner’s office. His brusque reply shocked me. ‘I don’t think much of that study. It seems to be an offshoot of progressive education. And above all,’ he said, ‘I think you’ve tampered with the course of study too much already, and that our new twelve-year program of studies is adequate for any further ventures you’d like to make. Pope, give me one good reason,’ he added challengingly, ‘why your school should participate. Just one.’

    ‘To be chosen as one of sixteen from hundreds of schools throughout the south,’ I replied evenly, ‘is an honor. And it’s difficult to believe that the General Education Board would underwrite a questionable project. Also the invitation honors you, Mr. Banner. You have made the invitation possible because of your liberal attitude. But your judgment in this matter is good enough for me.’

    His objections disappeared so quickly that I suddenly felt they had not been real anyway." (pp. 203-204)

"Professor Pope was a great motivator. He knew how to foster the importance and significance of learning, and he was able to instill in parents the importance of education. He encouraged all of us to continue our education in any way we could. He was able to develop a sense among the parents, many who had not completed high school, that learning was important and important for their children. This all stemmed from Mr. Pope and from his stature—he was a man of standards and of high morals." Maggie L. Gilliam

Maggie L. Gilliam

Robert Hines

"Professor Pope was a quiet man. He never raised his voice (and he never had to). He commanded respect." Robert Hines

     From Mr. Pope's 1967 memoir, Chalk Dust:
“The enthusiasm of the students involved, and their co-operation with the two teachers, and particularly the response of the core groups and their parents forced all the teachers to sit up and take notice. At the close of the year, the Secondary School Study was complete endorsed—so completely that there was good-natured rivalry among some of the teachers to be chosen for participation in the second workshop.
    During the remaining four years of workshops, over educational program was enriched by grants-in-aids, visits from consultants, representatives from co-operating colleges, and visits from teachers and students of members' schools.” (p. 207)

"Mr. Pope was a tall thin man—elderly, distinguished and serious. There was no smile from him when you crossed the threshold to enter school. He asked you to do what you were expected to. He established a setting where teachers received respect and students would earn respect. We knew walking into the school that he was in charge." Otis Cooper

"Mr. Randolph Armstrong became the new principal in September 1949. He was young and so involved in all of the activities of the school. And since we had worked with Mr. Pope (and was involved in Secondary School Study activities), he continued the spirit of the program. There was great continuity. He was not as stern as Mr. Pope—more low key—but we respected him just as much." Margaret Cotton

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