H. B. Sugg High School
Encyclopedia
H.B. Sugg High School was a top K-12 educational institution founded in 1903, based at S. George St., Farmville, NC. It was closed on July 4, 1999.
to link up with General Sherman’s Union Army as it marched through the Carolinas. Sugg heard of how his father was forced to sleep outdoors, like a dog, and how his mother was fortunate enough to have been taught to read by her masters. From this, H.B. Sugg rose from poverty to become a successful leader and molder of future generations. Stories of his parents’ experiences as slaves doubtlessly colored the imagination of H.B. Sugg as he struggled to attain an education. With the shadow of slavery’s injustices still fresh in the minds of many in the South, H.B. Sugg was able to rise above the challenges that faced him through hard work, dedicated study, and personal initiative to become an educational leader in Farmville, North Carolina.
In the post-slavery United States, H.B. Sugg’s life experiences were varied. He was born and reared on a farm in Greene County near Snow Hill. His early life consisted of farm labor and occasional elementary schooling. Sugg’s formal education was obtained at the Mary Potter Memorial School at Oxford, NC, and later at Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania. As a youth, Sugg commented that work on the farm often superseded the demands to be at school for most kids. But Sugg loved going to school so much that he found ways to be there. Sugg stated: “I’d do my share of the work. I’d get up early and feed the stock or do whatever else I was told. After school and on Saturdays, I’d have to do big jobs like hauling wagonloads of firewood for the coming week. I’ve picked cotton many a time by moonlight so I’d be free to go to school the next day.”
In his mid-twenties Sugg attended Mary Potter School in Oxford, North Carolina
. Sugg lived in a dormitory on campus while pursuing his studies at Mary Potter, and he continued to work before and after school and during the summers to pay for tuition and books. “In the summers I worked in the tobacco factory in Durham and also did some gardening there.” Following graduation from the Mary Potter School, Sugg went to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and earned his B.S. degree in teaching. During his time as a student in Pennsylvania, Sugg continued to work to pay his way: Sugg “milked cows, fed stock, and cut wood to pay my way there. I also worked summers as a waiter on a passenger steamship which ran from New York to Massachusetts . . .”
Upon graduation from Lincoln, Sugg worked for six years in Lillington, North Carolina
as well as serving as principal-teacher in Greene County for only a brief period of time. Military service during World War I
interrupted Sugg’s teaching career. Following his military service, Sugg began a career as principal of the school in Farmville. From 1918 to 1959, Sugg served as a teacher and principal in Farmville, North Carolina. Additional work outside of the classroom did not cease once Sugg came to Farmville: “I’d have to do odd jobs at night and go to Durham to work in the tobacco factory just to support my family.
Sugg’s leadership in Farmville saw the Farmville Colored School grow from a four-room make-shift hotel hall school house into a brick and mortar building consisting of thirty-two rooms and thirty-four teachers. Sugg said that in 1918 “there were 54 different colored schools in Pitt County. All of these were little frame shacks and were one, two, and three teacher schools. The successful growth of what became H.B. Sugg school is an inspiring one in itself. Sugg recalled that in 1922, he and his students helped construct the new location of their school: “ The new school was built on State land which had been cleared of woods by Sugg and ‘his boys’ after school hours and on Saturdays. [Tree] stumps which were too large to be dug or chopped out were dynamited by farmers whom Sugg hired with his own money.” Sugg created a school that consisted of the best features of the classical and vocational models of schooling that predominated during his formative period as an educator. The school's teachers continuously reinforced the 3 R’s as a way for students to acquire the literacy and numeracy skills to learn the European and Black classics. Teachers like Hazel Lawrence Jordan taught Shakespeare and Chaucer without sacrificing the work of the poets and novelists of the Harlem Renaissance. Lillie Graham taught advanced mathematics classes ranging from geometry to calculus and the school had a storied tradition of winning local and state awards in the biological and physical sciences due to the work of Mr. Bridges, Mr. Armistead, Mrs. Mebane and others. The great Roberta Flack taught music and directed a school chorus that won many local awards and performed a variety of musical compositions ranging from Negro spirituals. popular music, show tunes, and classical music sung in Latin. Mr. John l. Burge led a phenomenal school band that played marches, jazz, popular music, and classical fare. The school had a variety of co-curricular clubs and activities that included the Crown and Scepter Club (an honor society) debate teams, 4-H club, oratorical societies, boy and girl scout troops, and various social organizations supported by parents like Hazel and Nathan Cobb and the Redding family. The Farmville Colored School -- renamed after H.B. Sugg in 1951 -- grew to include a Home Economics Department, Industrial Arts course, a “52 piece band,” as well as a “gymnatorium.”
The school produced teachers, engineers, physicians, lawyers, college professors, entertainers, ministers, writers, scientists, and even a watch maker. Dr. Alma Hobbs has worked at the highest levels of the United States Department of Agriculture
. She also is the author of Living with Love, A Transformation of Contentment, harmony, Joy and Peace. Dr. Edward Joyner was an assistant professor of child development at the Yale Medical School, and the Executive Director of an international school reform program (the School Development Program). Joyner has also co-authored six books dealing with school reform and child and adolescent development. Dr. William Burge is a radiologist in Oakland and San Francisco. He also has a Ph.D in bio-chemistry from Duke University. The Johnson family produced Thomas (electrical engineer); Hazel (dentist) and Cynthia (professor of sociology). Their mother raised her children as a single parent after the premature death of her husband. Blenda Gay
played professional football for the Oakland Raiders
and the Philadelphia Eagles
.
Sugg achieved success because of his never faltering faith in the dignity of man and the value of education for all children. The most fruitful years of his life were dedicated to the advancement of a constantly expanding Farmville community. Success has crowned his efforts. A picture and caption in the Daily Reflector on January 1927 clearly captures a moment in time that displayed the level of respect children had for him: In the picture an impeccably well dressed H.B. Sugg, clad in suit jacket, tie, and hat stands amid four young, and smiling, middle school aged African American children: “ARE YOU THE REAL MR. SUGG?”
Academic
Named after Herman Bryan Sugg, H.B. Sugg Elementary School is in Farmville, North Carolina. The Farmville Colored School was renamed H.B. Sugg in 1951. The son of slaves, Herman Bryan Sugg grew up hearing stories of his father’s escape from slavery in Greene CountyGreene County
Greene County is the name of fourteen counties in the United States of America, each named in honor of American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene:*Greene County, Alabama*Greene County, Arkansas*Greene County, Georgia*Greene County, Illinois...
to link up with General Sherman’s Union Army as it marched through the Carolinas. Sugg heard of how his father was forced to sleep outdoors, like a dog, and how his mother was fortunate enough to have been taught to read by her masters. From this, H.B. Sugg rose from poverty to become a successful leader and molder of future generations. Stories of his parents’ experiences as slaves doubtlessly colored the imagination of H.B. Sugg as he struggled to attain an education. With the shadow of slavery’s injustices still fresh in the minds of many in the South, H.B. Sugg was able to rise above the challenges that faced him through hard work, dedicated study, and personal initiative to become an educational leader in Farmville, North Carolina.
In the post-slavery United States, H.B. Sugg’s life experiences were varied. He was born and reared on a farm in Greene County near Snow Hill. His early life consisted of farm labor and occasional elementary schooling. Sugg’s formal education was obtained at the Mary Potter Memorial School at Oxford, NC, and later at Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania. As a youth, Sugg commented that work on the farm often superseded the demands to be at school for most kids. But Sugg loved going to school so much that he found ways to be there. Sugg stated: “I’d do my share of the work. I’d get up early and feed the stock or do whatever else I was told. After school and on Saturdays, I’d have to do big jobs like hauling wagonloads of firewood for the coming week. I’ve picked cotton many a time by moonlight so I’d be free to go to school the next day.”
In his mid-twenties Sugg attended Mary Potter School in Oxford, North Carolina
Oxford, North Carolina
Oxford is a city in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,461 at the 2010 census It is the county seat of Granville County.-History:...
. Sugg lived in a dormitory on campus while pursuing his studies at Mary Potter, and he continued to work before and after school and during the summers to pay for tuition and books. “In the summers I worked in the tobacco factory in Durham and also did some gardening there.” Following graduation from the Mary Potter School, Sugg went to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and earned his B.S. degree in teaching. During his time as a student in Pennsylvania, Sugg continued to work to pay his way: Sugg “milked cows, fed stock, and cut wood to pay my way there. I also worked summers as a waiter on a passenger steamship which ran from New York to Massachusetts . . .”
Upon graduation from Lincoln, Sugg worked for six years in Lillington, North Carolina
Lillington, North Carolina
Lillington is a town in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,915 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Harnett County.-Geography:Lillington is located at ....
as well as serving as principal-teacher in Greene County for only a brief period of time. Military service during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
interrupted Sugg’s teaching career. Following his military service, Sugg began a career as principal of the school in Farmville. From 1918 to 1959, Sugg served as a teacher and principal in Farmville, North Carolina. Additional work outside of the classroom did not cease once Sugg came to Farmville: “I’d have to do odd jobs at night and go to Durham to work in the tobacco factory just to support my family.
Sugg’s leadership in Farmville saw the Farmville Colored School grow from a four-room make-shift hotel hall school house into a brick and mortar building consisting of thirty-two rooms and thirty-four teachers. Sugg said that in 1918 “there were 54 different colored schools in Pitt County. All of these were little frame shacks and were one, two, and three teacher schools. The successful growth of what became H.B. Sugg school is an inspiring one in itself. Sugg recalled that in 1922, he and his students helped construct the new location of their school: “ The new school was built on State land which had been cleared of woods by Sugg and ‘his boys’ after school hours and on Saturdays. [Tree] stumps which were too large to be dug or chopped out were dynamited by farmers whom Sugg hired with his own money.” Sugg created a school that consisted of the best features of the classical and vocational models of schooling that predominated during his formative period as an educator. The school's teachers continuously reinforced the 3 R’s as a way for students to acquire the literacy and numeracy skills to learn the European and Black classics. Teachers like Hazel Lawrence Jordan taught Shakespeare and Chaucer without sacrificing the work of the poets and novelists of the Harlem Renaissance. Lillie Graham taught advanced mathematics classes ranging from geometry to calculus and the school had a storied tradition of winning local and state awards in the biological and physical sciences due to the work of Mr. Bridges, Mr. Armistead, Mrs. Mebane and others. The great Roberta Flack taught music and directed a school chorus that won many local awards and performed a variety of musical compositions ranging from Negro spirituals. popular music, show tunes, and classical music sung in Latin. Mr. John l. Burge led a phenomenal school band that played marches, jazz, popular music, and classical fare. The school had a variety of co-curricular clubs and activities that included the Crown and Scepter Club (an honor society) debate teams, 4-H club, oratorical societies, boy and girl scout troops, and various social organizations supported by parents like Hazel and Nathan Cobb and the Redding family. The Farmville Colored School -- renamed after H.B. Sugg in 1951 -- grew to include a Home Economics Department, Industrial Arts course, a “52 piece band,” as well as a “gymnatorium.”
The school produced teachers, engineers, physicians, lawyers, college professors, entertainers, ministers, writers, scientists, and even a watch maker. Dr. Alma Hobbs has worked at the highest levels of the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
. She also is the author of Living with Love, A Transformation of Contentment, harmony, Joy and Peace. Dr. Edward Joyner was an assistant professor of child development at the Yale Medical School, and the Executive Director of an international school reform program (the School Development Program). Joyner has also co-authored six books dealing with school reform and child and adolescent development. Dr. William Burge is a radiologist in Oakland and San Francisco. He also has a Ph.D in bio-chemistry from Duke University. The Johnson family produced Thomas (electrical engineer); Hazel (dentist) and Cynthia (professor of sociology). Their mother raised her children as a single parent after the premature death of her husband. Blenda Gay
Blenda Gay
Blenda Glen Gay was a defensive end in the National Football League. He played three seasons in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles and is notable for his 1976 murder by his wife Roxanne....
played professional football for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Sugg achieved success because of his never faltering faith in the dignity of man and the value of education for all children. The most fruitful years of his life were dedicated to the advancement of a constantly expanding Farmville community. Success has crowned his efforts. A picture and caption in the Daily Reflector on January 1927 clearly captures a moment in time that displayed the level of respect children had for him: In the picture an impeccably well dressed H.B. Sugg, clad in suit jacket, tie, and hat stands amid four young, and smiling, middle school aged African American children: “ARE YOU THE REAL MR. SUGG?”
Coaches
- Jerome T. EvansJerome Evans (football coach)Jerome Thomas Evans was a legendary black high school football coach in the state of North Carolina during the 1950s through the 1970s. He became head football coach at Walter M. Williams High School in 1970, later serving as assistant principal...
(Black Coach, Pat JordanPat Jordan (author)Pat Jordan is a leading sports writer with his work included in the Best American Sports Writing anthology series seven times. He is also the acclaimed author of A False Spring, a bittersweet memoir about his minor league baseball career, which is ranked #37 on Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports...
, 1971) - J.C. Twitty
- Raymond Nobles
- Thomas Liverman
- Claude Clark
- Clarence Knight