George Roscoe (G.R.) Whitfield , 1897-

Left photograph: Professor [George Roscoe, known as G.R.] Whitfield, Ester Cherry Whitfield, and their children sitting on the steps on a building. Whitfield was an African American educator in Pitt County, N.C. Date approximated 1910-1930

Right photograph: Portrait of Professor George Roscoe (known as G.R.) Whitfield. According to caption on rear of photograph, Whitfield was the founder of the first black high school in Pitt County. The school was first known as Pitt County Training School and was later renamed G.R. Whitfield School. The school is located in Grimesland, N.C. Date approximated 1910-1940.

Bottom photograph: June 1966 graduates of G.R. Whitfield High School, Grimesland, N.C.

Photographs source: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center/East Carolina Manuscript Collection

George Roscoe Whitfield founded Pitt County Training School in 1923. It was the only high school for Black students in Pitt County during the Jim Crow Era. It was renamed G.R. Whitfield School during desegregation in the 1960's.
Today G.R. Whitfield is a PreK-8 school in Grimesland, NC. and the campus includes 3 main buildings, the newest addition was completed in 2001.
Historical documents related to the "colored" schools in Pitt County are available at the NC State Archives.