SR_DPI_DNE_Direc_Corr_Box16_Folder11_002

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
RALEIGH
October 10, 1946

Mr. N. C. Newbold
State Department Public Instruction
Raleigh, North Carolina

Dear Mr. Newbold:
Your letter of October 9, enclosing copies of letter taht you wrote to Superintendents Lohr and Green of Lumberton and Roberson County, respectively, on October 8, and correspondence between the Honorable Cutler Moore and Superintendent Erwin, is received.
There is really not much that I can say about the Lumberton Negro school sitaution that I have not said on numerous occasions. It is of recod that I inspected the Red Stone Academy building and the Thompson Institute building on Tuesday, November 26, 1940. At that time I made the following statements:
"The school officials of Lumberton and Robeson County are confronted with the urgent necessity of improving the school plant facilities for the entire Negro population of Lumberton". I further reported as follows: "I also feel it my duty to again mention the fact that the colored children of Lumberton are miserably housed, and that they have never received more than a meagre sum to improve their condition".
Prior to this report and subsequent to it, I have visited Lumberton, inspected sites, and conferred with school officials about the construction of new cshool plant facilities for the Negroes at Lumberton.
In my survey of the Negro schools of the State made in 1945, I stated that "both of these buildings are antiquated and badly in need of repairs", and estimated the cost at prewar prices at $125,000.00.
In all fairness to the Robeson County officials, it should be states that during the past three or four years definite and concrete plans have been under way for the construction of adequate school plant facilities for the Negro children at Lumberton, and a capital outlay fund to finance the undertaking has been accumulating uing this time. But for the war and the consequent abnormal building conditions I am of the fixed and fir pinion that adequate buildings would have been completed before this time.