This program aims to honor Evelyn Pope’s legacy by reading books!

Evelyn B. Pope was born on August 17, 1908, to Delia Pope and Dr. Manassa Pope. Evelyn was an avid reader whose favorite authors included Shakespeare, James Baldwin, and Richard Wright. Pope graduated from Shaw University, Hampton University, and Columbia University with her master’s in library science. After working in different Historically Black Colleges and University libraries across the South, she finally settled in Durham, North Carolina, to work at North Carolina Central University as the Dean of Library Sciences.

After retiring in 1973, Evelyn and her sister Ruth began to work together to save their family’s house, which is now the Dr. M.T. Pope House Museum. This program will be an avenue to bring community members together to talk and learn about Black history, culture, and literary fiction.

1. June 25: Campus to Counter: Civil Rights Activism in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina 1960-1963 by Brian Suttell
2. July 30: Claiming Union Widowhood: Race, Respectability, and Poverty in the Post-Emancipation South by Brandi C. Brimmer
3. August 27: Native Son by Richard Wright (From Evelyn Book Collection)
4. September 24: Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story by Timothy B. Tyson

Photo courtesy: City of Raleigh Historic Resources and Museum Program – Dr. M.T. Pope House Museum Collection

https://raleighnc.gov/parks-and-recreation/news/evelyns-book-club