February 5, 2003
Pieces of the Past Spring Lecture Series
Begins with a Discussion on the Life of Dr. M.T. Pope

RALEIGH, N.C. (February 5, 2003) – The Raleigh City Museum will introduce its Pieces of the Past Spring 2003 Lecture Series with a presentation by Kenneth Joel Zogry, executive director of the Pope House Museum Foundation. The lecture, entitled “’We Knew We Wouldn't Win': Dr. M.T. Pope and the Early Struggle for Civil Rights in North Carolina, 1888-1919,” will be held Saturday, February 22, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. in the museum’s lower level classroom. The program is free and open to the general public.

The remarkable survival of the Pope House and its original contents in downtown Raleigh, built in 1901 by Dr. M.T. Pope, a prominent African American physician and political activist, opens a window onto a century of local African American history. Using documents and artifacts discovered in the Pope House, this slide-lecture will tell the fascinating story of Dr. Pope and the times in which he lived, including his courageous run for mayor of Raleigh in 1919. Efforts to save, restore, and open the Pope House to the public will also be discussed. The Pope House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is an Official Project of the Save America's Treasures Program. For more information, call 833-4633, or visit www.thepopehousemuseum.org.

Kenneth Joel Zogry is executive director of the Pope House Museum Foundation, and is a Ph.D. candidate in American History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a native of Raleigh, and holds a B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina State University and an M.A. in American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has more than fifteen years experience in the museum field, including serving as assistant curator of Old Salem in Winston-Salem, and as curator of the Bennington Museum in Vermont. Mr. Zogry has more than a dozen published articles in the fields of history, architecture, and decorative arts, and is the author of two award- winning books: "The University's Living Room: A History of the Carolina Inn" (1999); and "The Best the Country Affords: Vermont Furniture, 1765-1850" (1995).

The Pieces of the Past Spring 2003 Lecture Series will continue with “The Story of Historic Yates Mill,” presented by Rebeccah Cope on Saturday, March 15 at 2:00 p.m., and “Lost Raleigh: An Architectural & Cultural Odyssey,” presented by Ken Peters on Saturday, April 12 at 2:00 p.m. For more information on these events, please contact Ken Peters, Coordinator of Education & Outreach, at 832-3775 ext. 11.

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