Frederick Street School debate team, 1926

Frederick Street School debate team, 1926.

The year 1918 brought the opening of Cumberland High School, a black high school located on Frederick Street. In keeping with the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, the new school for black students was, in theory, to be, "separate but equal." B.H. Smith was the principal and it was initially established as a two-year institution.

In 1919 E.A. Gibson became principal, the school implemented a four-year curriculum, and in 1922 the name was changed to Frederick Street School, and in 1941, to Carver High School.

This photograph is of the 1926 debating team of Frederick Street School.
The team members were, top row, from left to right: Horatio Ruffner, Arthur Jackson, Edwin Gibson, Alexander "Pete" Robinson, Reginald Cooper, and George Page. Bottom row, from left to right, are Robert Frisby, Geraldwood Wilson, and Chester Francis.