September 21, 1935
THE STATE
hree
He Bosses Negro Education
FOR Iwenly-lwo years .V C.
Леи
bold lists been in charge of \egro
school work in \orlh Carolina.
And he has made a splendid suc¬
cess onl of his job.
By C. J. WEEKS
A MAN whose grandfather once
owned colored slaves probably
has done more for the ad¬
vancement of Negro education in
North Carolina during the past genera¬
tion than any other person in the state.
He is Dr. N. C. Newbold. native of
Pasquotank County, who has been di¬
rector of the Division of Negro Kdu-
eation in the North Carolina Depart¬
ment of Public Instruction since 1013,
or a total of 22 years. This gives him
the distinction of Wing one of the old¬
est persons, in point of service, con¬
nected with nny branch of the state
government.
Tremendous Development
deceiving his higher education at
Trinity College, now Duke University,
Columbia. Vale ami Harvard Univer¬
sities, Dr. Newbold was singularly
fitted for the task he assumed upon
returning to North Carolina follow¬
ing his wanderings in the fields of
learning, lie has taken a great deal
of pride in his work for the Negroes
of this state, and recently granted an
interview in which he reviewed the
tremendous development which has
taken place in Negro education in this
state since the turn of the century.
"You know," he said with a reminis¬
cent smile, "when I took up my duties
here in dune,
ИЧЗ,
I had no assistants,
maintained my oflice in a hall of this
building, (tin- old "Red Brick” build¬
ing in Raleigh used hv various state
departments), and about all the equip¬
ment I had was a small desk and an
old second-hand Oliver typewriter.
"It is interesting to note that with¬
in ten years from the time our divi¬
sion was organized, it had more em¬
ployees than the entire Department of
Public Instruction had when I began
my work."
past year the Negro school
сеШШ
of the state was 340,-
895 pupils and the number
of teacher* bad grown to
6,000. Von can readily see
from those figures that the
Negro school population
has more than doubled, and
the uuinber of teachers has
been increased by almost 4,000.
"The advancement in teacher train¬
ing has been one of the outstanding ac¬
complishments in our work for the
Negro schools of the state. Ill 1913,
there were 30 counties in North Caro¬
lina which had Negro teachers with
ta*s than four years of high school
training. Today all of them average
better than two years of college work.
The requirements for Negro teachers
of the state an* the same as tho-e for
white instructors.
"Along with the increase in the
|юр-
ulutiou of Negro elementary schools
there has been a notable gain in high
school and college attendance. Ten
years ago, there were only 5,053 stu¬
dents in Negro high schools of the state.
That figure had grown to 24,725 in
1934. Collgo students in 1913 num¬
bered only 179, hut last year there were
3,220 attending the Negro institutions
of higher learning in North Carolina.
A Notable Record
"The Negro public school popula¬
tion in 1913 was approximately 160,-
000, with 2,800 teachers. During the
Five Negro Colleges
"The stute of North Carolina sup¬
ports five Negro colleges, which have a
property valuation of almost 83,500,-
000. These are located at Elizabeth
City. Fayetteville, Greensboro, Dur¬
ham aud Winston-Salem, and several
of them are devoted to the training
of teachers for the Negro public schools
of the state. Within the past year,
we have made application for a PWA
loan and grant amounting t<» more than
3935,000, which, if approved, will be
used for the improvement of the plants
of rho various Negro colleges and nor¬
mal schools.”
Dr. Newbold said that the greatest
development in Negro education came
during the so-called "boom" years fol¬
lowing the World War.
"That is easily understood,” he said.
"Almost everybody, including the state
government, hud plenty of money, and
it was used to advantage in this par¬
ticular instance. Our work also has
received aid of almost incalculable pro¬
portions from a number of foundations
and organizations interested in Negro
education in the entire country as well
as North Carolina.
“The Rosenwald Foundation, headed
by the late great philanthropist, Julius
Dr. N. C. Newbold, director of the
Division of Negro Education.
Rosenwald, has contributed
тою
than
31,000,000 during the hist 15 years,
and nil even greater sum than that was
donated during the same period by the
General Education Ho
City, which expended $1,3I5.00<
the cause of Negro i
state. Other eontriht
from the Anna T. J
Phelps-Stokes Fund ;
Statler Fund.”
of New York
for
on in the
have come
Fund, the
* John F.
Dr. Newbold
к
sory education la'
enacted some yea
eral Assembly of
plied to Negro as
py ti
Caro'
(ion-
Attendance Ratio Good
Rut, -1- . !-l« -
ills,
ttv
<111© I
nomic condi ti<
law is not stri<
cases," he said,
of attendance is
we are hopeful
greater in the years t
"I am proud to hn
in the advancement
tiou in North Carol it
of that
in many
"Ilow
-ever, the
ratio
very
that i
gratifying,
t Will 1)C
and
even
of
■me.
daved a part
Negro educa¬
te , ami hope that
>vcn more in the
n the past,” Dr.
luding (he inter-
I will be able to d
future than I hav.
Newbold said in c<
view.
Dr. Newbold wished to have it em¬
phasized that the main credit for prog¬
ress made in Negro education in the
state should be given to the county
and city superintendent*, Itonrds of
education ami the colored people them¬
selves.
