ABROAD AT HOME: A NUGGET OF RALEIGH HISTORY
Pope House Museum
This week we toured the Pope House Museum in downtown Raleigh not far from the capitol. Built in 1901, this small two-story building was the home of Dr. Manassa Pope and his family. Pope was the first licensed African American doctor in North Carolina. Born in 1858 to free parents, he graduated from nearby Shaw University and then got his training at Leonard Medical Center. He fought in the Spanish American War and later helped start a bank in Durham.
Dr. Pope and his first wife Lydia bought the land and then built this house. She died of tuberculosis in 1906, and he and his second wife Delia, an educator, had two girls. The house was in a middle-class Black neighborhood and a mark of his success. It faced Wilmington Street which was the dividing line between the African American neighborhood and a White neighborhood.
In 1919, during the Jim Crow era, Dr. Pope was a candidate for city mayor. He didn’t expect to win but wanted to show that African Americans had the right to vote. His daughters, Evelyn and Ruth, became teachers and lived in the house until their deaths. Neither married nor had any children. Fortunately, the city of Raleigh acquired the property and preserved it as this museum.
The house is small but worth a visit to see the artifacts and photos documenting this man’s prominent role during a difficult era in history. February, Black History month, is still being observed in towns like Cary. It is a fitting moment to see the Pope House Museum, to reflect on the past, to appreciate how far our society has come, and alas, to be fearful how far backwards we may go.
LOVE AND POLITICS: A NOVEL
How to Sleep at Night by Elizabeth Harris
Elizabeth Harris is a New York Times reporter who covers the publishing industry and authors. She has frequently written about trends in book banning including how it can be done under the radar. How to Sleep at Night is her first novel, and it’s a treat.
Ethan and Gabe are a married gay couple with a 5-year-old daughter. When Ethan announces, he is going to run as conservative Republican candidate for Congress, Gabe, who is a Democrat, is stunned and flummoxed, but agrees to go along. Ethan’s sister Nicole is a suburban mother of two kids married to Austin. Her marriage has become stale, and she feels somewhat adrift. Nicole re-engages with old college flame Kate, who is a newspaper reporter, and both their lives become more complicated.
Politics plays a big part in this novel, but it’s equally a novel about love, the vagaries within marriage, and the appeal of new love. The characters are well drawn–even the children are convincingly real– and there is wit and warmth midst the chaos. Recommended! (~JWFarrington)
BRAIN FOOD: GREAT DECISIONS PROGRAM
America’s Role Going Forward
The Chief Penguin and I are participating in one of the Great Decisions discussion groups offered here. Great Decisions is an annual program developed by the Foreign Policy Association. They provide a text which contains background reading for the weekly sessions, each chapter written by a different expert. The 2025 theme is “America at a Global Crossroads.” An accompanying DVD has sections related to each chapter.
Thus far, I’ve been impressed with the quality of the background reading and have found the DVD lectures building on and expanding the chapter information. It’s clear that the materials were prepared after the 2024 election making them very relevant. Tariffs and the history of American trade policy since WWI were part of our most recent session. Food for the brain!
BLACK HISTORY BOOK DISPLAY
Note: Unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
