GUEST EDITORIAL

Founder’s Day for Laurinburg Institute is an annual celebration of the origin and legacy of our school.

Both began in 1881, with a Black woman. Her name is Tinny Etheridge. She was born in Camden, Alabama.

Tuskegee Institute was founded two hours east and four months earlier.

E.M. McDuffie was born in 1883 in Snow Hill, Alabama. That’s the mid-way point between Camden and Tuskegee.

Tinny was pregnant in April, 1904 with her first of seven children. She married E.M. McDuffie in May. They both reportedly graduated afterwards from Snow Hill Institute.

Tuskegee Institute founder, Booker T. Washington and Snow Hill Institute founder, W.J. Edwards chose the McDuffie’s to start a school in Laurinburg, North Carolina.

Tinny birthed Verdelle McDuffie four months after our school opened on Sept. 15, 1904. Verdelle was the first of seven McDuffie children to graduate from Laurinburg Institute.

She also graduated from Atlanta University and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, as reported in the Sept. 5, 1931, New York Age.

Verdelle completed post graduate study in music at Columbia University. She married Hersey M. Lane in 1931. Both were employed afterwards by our school. The Laurinburg Institute legacy grew with every successive employee and graduate.

Our 2024 Founder’s Day weekend began for me in Camden, Alabama. That’s Tinny’s home town.

The Sept. 10, 1927, New York Age confirms Willie May Etheridge was her brother. He lived his entire life in Camden.

One of Tinny’s sisters lived her adult life in Cleveland, Ohio. Though, she regularly visited Laurinburg Institute.

The Sept. 15, 1934, New York Age confirms her name was Sina Etheridge.

Thelma Etheridge was Tinny’s other sister. She was married to Isaac Ellis Johnson, long time dean and principal at our school.

Tinny told the Jan. 9, 1978, Charlotte Observer she lived in a girls dormitory for 40 years. Her youngest son, Frank McDuffie told the April 12, 1984, Los Angeles Times, Morning Vespers was her creation. He also said, Tinny spoke at every commencement from 1904 to 1981. She passed in October, 1982.

Founder’s Day weekend for me continued 20 minutes east of Camden.

E.M. McDuffie was born and raised there in Snow Hill, Alabama. There are no known McDuffie descendants in Snow Hill, but, the Snow Hill Institute campus remains. That’s where McDuffie, Tinny and Verdelle answered the call to action.

A long gravel road connects the entrance to campus then splits in two through 1,400 acres of open fields. It’s very welcoming. Only eight of 27 buildings remain. Most noticeable is the regulation outdoor basketball court. There’s also a paved, outdoor, slant roof pavilion with picnic tables. I imagined classes and staff meetings held there.

W.J. Edwards’ headstone is prominently displayed on campus. Four stone steps lead to an elevated, fenced in area where he’s buried. Someone was intentional about him overlooking campus. Snow Hill Institute is a beautiful school. The grounds are maintained though the buildings are closed. None of the grass is brown or patchy. That land is fertile. W.J. Edwards’ nephew, Wendell H. Edwards, Jr., ‘63, told me Snow Hill Institute grew its own food. And, made bricks used to construct buildings there.

Founder’s Day weekend for me concluded with a full day at Tuskegee University – Archives. Folks there allowed me to page through photos, transcripts, and yearbooks for E.M. McDuffie Jr., ‘33 and his younger brother, Reginald McDuffie, ‘35.

They were the oldest sons of E.M. and Tinny McDuffie. Both were Laurinburg Institute graduates. Both were competitive tennis players that won tournaments throughout the south and northeast. W.J. Edwards Jr., son of the Snow Hill Institute founder also competed in tennis tournaments. All three were employed at Laurinburg Institute after college graduation.

Our school held a Founder’s Day celebration on Sept. 14, 2024, at Bright Hopewell Baptist Church. I experienced this celebration like hundreds of other employees and graduates of our school – vicariously, through the few that attended.

Founder’s Day celebrations are the ordained responsibility of the McDuffie Family. We expect planning far in advance and for them to be held on campus.

Founder’s Day is their chance to resuscitate the Laurinburg Institute brand. It’s also an opportunity to bring employees and graduates into organized association.

Bright Hopewell Baptist Church, though, is one of few remaining institutions linked to school history. Frank McDuffie was the Bright Hopewell Baptist Choir director in 1940, as stated in the Aug., 17, 1940, New York Age.

Funeral service for Tinny McDuffie was held there on Oct. 20, 1982.

Frank McDuffie’s funeral was there on Jan. 9, 1994. His sister, Musa McDuffie passed on Founder’s Day in 1997. Garland Pierce officiated her funeral at Bright Hopewell Baptist Church. He’s still the pastor and is now also State Representative.

Pierce spoke at our Founder’s Day celebration on Saturday. So did, James Willis, the mayor of Laurinburg. Most notable was the representative for North Carolina governor Roy Cooper.

He issued a proclamation with the governor’s signature and State of North Carolina seal.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper officially proclaimed “Sept. 14, 2024 as a day in recognition of the Laurinburg Institute 120th anniversary.” Our anniversary, though, was the next day – Sept. 15, 2024.

Also, Laurinburg Institute has unofficially been closed since 2015-2016. Not because of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Not because of Hurricane Mathew in 2016 or Hurricane Florence in 2018, as Garland Pierce suggested.

Funding has never been an issue either. All Laurinburg Institute ever needs is held in abundance by employees and graduates throughout the Caribbean, Europe and the United States — Africa and Puerto Rico too.

Our school is closed because of snafus identical to those at our 2024 Founder’s Day celebration.

Andre Mack

‘91, BA, MS, Laurinburg Institute Alumni