Evening star., 1935-11-17

chased for him by his aunt, Alathea
Tanner, became an assistant messenger
in the Land Office, studied for the
ministry, was ordained and became
the principal of this school in 1884.
An educational and spiritual leader
of wise influence among his race, he
taught here uninterruptedly until his
death in 1885, except for the interim
of one year-1835-when the school
was closed on account Of the Snow
riot" This disturbance was said to
have been an offshoot of the Turner
insurrection in Virginia, as an after
math of which practically all State
and church efforts toward educating
the colored race in the South were
temporarily halted. To his sons he
apparently bequeathed the mantle of
his educational leadership. An older
one, John F. Cook. presided over the
destinies of this school until 1857. A
younger, George F. T. Cook. moved it
from the old Smothers' house to the
basement of a colored Presbyterian
church. During the perilouS Civil
War days it existed as best it could,
and in 1862 was moved into a new
school house on Sixteenth street, where
it continued until 1867, when it's con-
tinuance was no longer necessary be-
cause of the functioning of the public
school system.
It would truly seem as if there had
been an educational laying on of hands
in this family, for George F. T. Cook
became colored superintendent of the
colored public schools of Washington
and Georgetown after the Civil War.
Today his portrait hangs in the board
room of the Franklin School in COM
memoration Of his service to this COM
munity. From 1868 until 1870, and
continuously from 1871 until 1900, his
was an outstanding labor of love and
of wisdom.
Offices Merged.
Here, let it be said, that the colored
and white public schools were under
separate boards lEtil 1874, when the
trustees for Washington, Georgetown,
the county and the colored schools
were merged into one group with two
coordinate superintendentS, one for
the white schools and another for the
colored. In 1900 Congress, in desire
to unity the administration of the
schools, reviewed their history, created
a Board of Education with executive
power and provided only one superin-
tendent for the entire system. The
organic act of 1906, continued by that
of 1924, provided that "the colored as
sistant superintendent, under the di-
rection of the superintendent of
schools, shall have sole charge of all
teachers, classes and schools in which
colored children are taught"
Of the administration of George F.
T. Cook as colored superintendent of
schools, A. T. Stuart, superintendent
of instruction under the 1900 act Of
Congress, says in his centennial re-
port to the Board Of Education in
1904-5, "The high standard in dis
cipline and instruction which the COL
ored schools have, is due to George
F. T. Cook more than any other man"
The splendid John F. Cook School
for colored children, located on P
street between North Capitol and First
streets. which is the successor to the
old John F. Cook School on o street
between Fourth and Fifth streets, per-
petuates the name of Supt. Cooks
father and the ideals of service to
his race in the field of education
and of spiritual leadership which he
bequeathed to his sons and to posterity.
To those who carried the torch, too
much cannot e'said in praise of their
pioneer efforts for education among
the colored people of Washington.
They successfully overcame great OBJ
stacles that the lamp of learning might
burn for the colored race in America.