Ezekiel "Zeke" Robinson

Robinson with the college's horse and buggy

When the doors opened at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) on October 5, 1892, school president Charles Duncan McIver had 15 well-qualified faculty members and nearly 200 young female students. While cooks, janitors, handymen, and others worked behind the scenes to keep the school running, McIver felt that he needed a single individual to manage the facilities and the support staff on the growing campus. He called upon Ezekiel “Zeke” Robinson, a young African American man who had worked as a servant for McIver during his time teaching at Peace Institute in Raleigh. Robinson arrived mere weeks after the campus’s opening, and took up the duties of “General Factotum.”

In this role, Robinson managed the school’s large support staff – as many as forty-two individuals in the 1894-95 academic year. Nearly all of these workers were African Americans, and many (including Robinson) lived in a small segregated neighborhood several blocks west of campus. There, Robinson and his wife raised their four children – three boys. One son, named Charles Duncan McIver, died at a young age. The other two sons, Ed and Milton, moved to New York City where one became a prominent orchestra leader. Robinson’s only daughter Annie, named after McIver’s daughter, graduated from Bennett College in 1932 and became an educator in Greensboro.

Robinson (front center) with other members
of the maintenance team

In addition to supervision of other support staff, Robinson performed numerous tasks that were critical to the function of the school. He rang the school bell, assisted with campus landscaping, lit fires to keep offices and rooms warm, waited table at state dinners, and delivered the campus mail. He also served as a porter to the college presidents, seeing that they kept appointments and helping with their coats and umbrellas. In his role as the campus chauffeur, he drove the college presidents to meet visiting dignitaries such as Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, and Anna Howard Shaw. In the earliest days of the campus, he manned the college horse-and-buggy, providing students with their primary means of transportation into the city.

Robinson just prior to retirement, 1944

 During his time at the school, he saw the transition from horses to automobiles, from oil lamps to electricity, from fireplaces to central heating, and from wells and pumps to running water. He served three college presidents (McIver, Julius Foust, and W.C. Jackson). He saw the acreage of campus increase tenfold, and saw the student body grow from 200 to over 2,200.

Ill health forced Robinson to retire in 1944 after a 52-year career, although he noted that he planned to “come to work on his good days, and that the college will have to get along as best it can when he can’t make the grade.” At his retirement, faculty and alumnae presented Robinson with a $300 gift to symbolize their “appreciation of his long and faithful service to the college.” He returned to campus numerous times after his official retirement, typically at the annual Founder's Day celebration in October.

On December 1, 1960, Ezekiel Robinson died at a local nursing home at the age of 93. Robinson was the last surviving member of the faculty and staff from the first year of the State Normal. He was interred at Maplewood Cemetery near the North Carolina A&T campus.

Early African American Campus Employees

While African American students were banned from enrolling at the school now known as UNCG prior to 1956, the campus during its earlier years operated primarily on the labor of African American men and women who served as cooks, janitors, handymen, and others who worked behind the scenes.

Ezekiel "Zeke" Robinson

Little is known about these early African American employees, but the 1913 edition of the student yearbook (known at the time as the Carolinian) carried a short article about them as part of its section celebrating the school's twentieth anniversary. This section, titled "Some Old Servants of the College," highlights the contributions of many of the workers "who have served our Alma Mater long, faithfully and honestly." The language used and viewpoints presented are indicative of how the white female student body viewed the African American service workers.

The largest portion of the article is dedicated to Ezekiel "Zeke" Robinson, who the author notes "is now the acknowledged 'power behind the throne.'" After being hired by president Charles Duncan McIver at the school's opening in 1892, Robinson managed the school’s large support staff, nearly all of whom were African American. He is praised in the article for his faithfulness to the school, nothing that "no member of the faculty has ever felt more responsible for the College than Zeke has."

Amanda "Aunt Mandy" Rhodes

Amanda "Aunt Mandy" Rhodes, who also worked at the school at its opening, is also singled out for praise. Rhodes served as a dormitory housekeeper, and the article notes that "there isn't a girl who has lived on Aunt Mandy's hall whose love she hasn't won by her irrepressible enthusiasm and her interest in the girls and in everything they do."

William "Uncle William" Peoples is described in the article as "our most talented servant," as he "can pack, wrap, and dispatch packages, deliver and open boxes, fix electric lights, force the most difficult trunk locks, and a hundred other necessary things." Peoples, who arrived at the college around 1901, is also praised for his sense of humor.

William "Uncle William" Peoples

The article concludes with brief mentions of "a few more of the many servants who have proved indispensible [sic] to the College." These include "Uncle Henderson, and old cook of the College, and an interesting character, who died in service here" as well as as "Johnson, janitor at the Training School for many years, [who] has always won the love and respect of both teachers and children by his integrity, his faithfulness, and his polite and willing service" and his wife Nannie, "maid in Senior Dormitory, and the sworn friend of every Senior."

Needless to say, the State Normal would not have succeeded without the contributions of these and the many other African American employees who ensured that the lights operated, the buildings and grounds were clean, the students and staff were fed, and the general operations proceeded smoothly and did not disrupt the school's educational mission.

Ezekiel "Zeke" Robinson

Robinson with the college's horse and buggy

When the doors opened at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) on October 5, 1892, school president Charles Duncan McIver had 15 well-qualified faculty members and nearly 200 young female students. While cooks, janitors, handymen, and others worked behind the scenes to keep the school running, McIver felt that he needed a single individual to manage the facilities and the support staff on the growing campus. He called upon Ezekiel “Zeke” Robinson, a young African American man who had worked as a servant for McIver during his time teaching at Peace Institute in Raleigh. Robinson arrived mere weeks after the campus’s opening, and took up the duties of “General Factotum.”

In this role, Robinson managed the school’s large support staff – as many as forty-two individuals in the 1894-95 academic year. Nearly all of these workers were African Americans, and many (including Robinson) lived in a small segregated neighborhood several blocks west of campus. There, Robinson and his wife raised their four children – three boys. One son, named Charles Duncan McIver, died at a young age. The other two sons, Ed and Milton, moved to New York City where one became a prominent orchestra leader. Robinson’s only daughter Annie, named after McIver’s daughter, graduated from Bennett College in 1932 and became an educator in Greensboro.

Robinson (front center) with other members
of the maintenance team

In addition to supervision of other support staff, Robinson performed numerous tasks that were critical to the function of the school. He rang the school bell, assisted with campus landscaping, lit fires to keep offices and rooms warm, waited table at state dinners, and delivered the campus mail. He also served as a porter to the college presidents, seeing that they kept appointments and helping with their coats and umbrellas. In his role as the campus chauffeur, he drove the college presidents to meet visiting dignitaries such as Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, and Anna Howard Shaw. In the earliest days of the campus, he manned the college horse-and-buggy, providing students with their primary means of transportation into the city. During his time at the school, he saw the transition from horses to automobiles, from oil lamps to electricity, from fireplaces to central heating, and from wells and pumps to running water. He served three college presidents (McIver, Julius Foust, and W.C. Jackson). He saw the acreage of campus increase tenfold, and saw the student body grow from 200 to over 2,200.

Robinson in front of the McIver Building, 1944

Ill health forced Robinson to retire in 1944 after a 52-year career, although he noted that he planned to “come to work on his good days, and that the college will have to get along as best it can when he can’t make the grade.” At his retirement, faculty and alumnae presented Robinson with a $300 gift to symbolize their “appreciation of his long and faithful service to the college.” He returned to campus numerous times after his official retirement, typically at the annual Founder's Day celebration in October.

On December 1, 1960, Ezekiel Robinson died at a local nursing home at the age of 93. Robinson was the last surviving member of the faculty and staff from the first year of the State Normal. He was interred at Maplewood Cemetery near the North Carolina A&T campus.