FSU History is Black History: Who’s Hood?
posted by Ty Hamer-Yelverton | February 14, 2022 | In Arts and CultureAs a student at Fayetteville State University, you may either walk by, work, or reside in a residence hall, an academic building, or an administration building on campus. Has it ever crossed your mind why certain buildings have names?
Hood Hall is named after Bishop James Walker Hood, who was an AME Zion bishop in North Carolina from 1872 to 1916. Bishop Hood played a supporting role in the establishment of the Howard School, now known as Fayetteville State University, in November 1867.
In 1865, Bishop Hood was selected president of a convention of freed African Americans in Raleigh, North Carolina. Through his advocacy, Hood spoke for full citizenship and rights for African Americans. Hood was commissioned by General Otis O. Howard of the Freedmen’s Bureau becoming the first assistant superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina. Before 1870, Hood had placed 49,000 black students in public school and established a department for the deaf, dumb, and blind. Hood is a leader of the movement that established three historically black colleges/universities in North Carolina: Fayetteville State University, North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, and Livingstone College in Salisbury.
So, as you walk by, work, or reside in Hood Hall, reflect on the namesake of the residence hall, Bishop Reverend James Walker Hood.
Photo courtesy of State Archives of NC
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