The Live-at-Home program was initiated in 1929 by Governor Gardner during the Great Depression to teach all North Carolina citizens, especially school children, the importance of being self-sufficient.

One of the program’s main goals was to encourage farmers to transition from mainly growing cash crops like tobacco to growing food crops for their families and community to weather the difficult Depression years that lay ahead.

A part of the program were essay contests for school children of all levels. The essays were written to demonstrate the practices and philosophy of the Live-at-Home program—first prize winners, Holley and Sossamon are seen here.

Gardner was warned by his staff that being photographed with a Black child would incite controversy, a warning that he rightfully ignored.
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Source: N.53.15.5218
From the Albert Barden Collection, State Archives of NC.