The Legacy
Continues
On June 30, 1900, Atkins reported to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction that “the classroom accommodations were up to the best standard.” There were 12 faculty members and 263 students – 117 males and 146 females – from North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Zululand, South Africa.
While racial friction remained an issue in many communities, Atkins is credited with establishing a spirit of cooperation between the races in the “twin cities” of Winston and Salem. Indicating the worth of Slater to the community, William A. Blair, a respected business leader and member of the board of trustees, said it had been “a center around which a community of interest and mutual understanding and respect and regard of one race for the other has been centered.”
12 faculty members and 263 students The school continued to receive recognition and support far beyond the community and state. The following statement was made by Dr. David James Burrell, pastor of the Marble Collegiate Church, New
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York City: “I know Slater Industrial and State Normal School, and believe in it. The splendid success which it has achieved is largely due to the cordial understanding between the white people who stand back of the enterprise, and the colored people who are more immediately interested in it. I wish there were more Institutions of like character. I say with all my heart, ‘God bless it.’”
As the school reached its 25th anniversary in 1918, World War I was in full swing, and most male students were serving in the military. Yet there was cause for optimism, as the school announced a campaign to raise $25,000 – a thousand dollars for each year of the school’s history.
The anniversary campaign goal was met, with $10,000 from the state, $5,000 from the General Education Board, and $10,000 from the citizens of Winston-Salem. W.A. Blair said, “It was the easiest money to raise I have ever known of.”
During 1910-11, electric current and steam heating were installed, reducing the danger of fire but increasing the cost of operation.
Summer 2012
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