May is Local and Community History Month, and with its official founding in 1792, Raleigh has more than its fair share of landmarks. Among the best-known is the home that once belonged to one of Raleigh’s most unique and fascinating citizens, Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope. The Pope House downtown sits only blocks from our city’s capitol and remains the only African American house museum in North Carolina. STEP BACK IN TIME AT THE POPE HOUSE A Slice of Local History
Dr. Pope was born in 1858 to free Black Americans and moved to Raleigh in 1874 to attend Shaw University, the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) in the Southern U.S. After earning his medical degree. Dr. Pope began practicing medicine in Charlotte before returning to Raleigh in 1899. Around the time Dr. Pope began to settle down in Raleigh, government officials passed laws to disenfranchise
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African Americans. However, as a rare Black citizen born to free parents, Dr. Pope met the requirements of the grandfather clause, providing voting rights only to those whose grandfathers could vote. He was one of only seven non-white men in Raleigh with suffrage. Dr. Pope took his unusual trajectory a step further when he decided to run for Raleigh mayor in 1919. During the Jim Crow era, he was the only African American man to enter a mayoral race in a Southern capital city. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Pope did not win the election, securing only 126 of 2,550 votes. But his campaign showed remarkable courage and defiance in a dangerous period. The Pope House was built in 1901 at 511 S. Wilmington St., in an area that African American professionals primarily inhabited. Dr. Pope had the latest technology in his home, including an electric stove, running water, a full indoor bathroom, and a telephone. In later years, the family added a garage and installed full electricity throughout the house. Dr. Pope died in 1934, and his daughters eventually took over stewardship of the house and converted it into a museum in 2000. The Pope House is on the National Register of Historic Places, retains much of the original furniture, and contains over 3,000 artifacts that give a glimpse into the lives of prestigious African American families in the early 1900s. If you’d like to see this slice of Raleigh history for yourself, it’s open for free tours on Saturdays and Sundays. Visit RaleighNC.gov/pope-house for more information.
RHUBARB CRISP
INGREDIENTS
Topping: • 1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts • 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats (not instant) • 1/4 tsp cinnamon • 3/4 cup flour • 1/3 cup light brown sugar • 1 tbsp sugar • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
Filling: • 2 1/2 lbs rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Set rack in the center of the oven. 2. In a food processor, place all topping ingredients. Pulse until the mixture is crumbled to the size of small peas. Do not over-process. Set aside. 3. Into a large, shallow baking dish, pour the rhubarb and sprinkle with sugar and flour, coating the rhubarb evenly. Spread crisp topping over entire filling mix. 4. Bake until crisp is bubbly and the top is golden brown, approximately 30–40 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy! Inspired by FoodNetwork.com
PATRIOT WEALTH | 919.322.4113 | P3
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