LAURINBURG — Maybe the “I” in the name I. Ellis Johnson stands for immortal. At least that’s what Scotland County Superintendent A.B. Gibson said at a banquet honoring Johnson in 1962. Johnson, who was the first Black principal in Scotland County, worked in education for 54 years, spending the bulk of his career in Scotland County.

But, the “I” is for Issac, said Johnson’s nephew, Frank “Bishop” McDuffie, president of the Laurinburg Institute, a historically Black secondary school.

Johnson was born in Alabama, educated at the Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute, which was started by William James Edwards, a graduate of Tuskegee University. He spent two years in Alabama as an educator before coming to Laurinburg. For the next 52 years, Johnson left his footprint on Scotland County Schools.

So, what brought Johnson from Alabama to Laurinburg? In 1912, E.M. McDuffie, who was the head of the Laurinburg Institute, asked Johnson to come to town.

“It was a Knight errant,” McDuffie said. What that means is Black educators would go to areas in the south to educate their people. When Johnson arrived in Laurinburg, he and other Snow Hill graduates got to work building the Laurinburg Institute, McDuffie said.

At that time, the Laurinburg Institute was the only school in the county that educated Black people. The school was founded in 1904 by Emmanuel and Tinny McDuffie. The McDuffies are graduates of the Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute, which was located in Snow Hill, Ala.

“We have to be responsible for educating ourselves,” McDuffie said, adding that it’s a true fact today as well. “[Johnson] stood for doing right and being educated.”

When Johnson was working at the Laurinburg Institute, schools in the area looked different.

According to LL King, a Laurinburg resident: “At that time, the schools were not integrated.” Black students only had one option to further their education past elementary school until 1953.

Lincoln Heights High School opened and Johnson was tabbed to be the principal. It was the first public high school for African-Americans here. Before Lincoln Heights opened, Black students could only attend high school at the Laurinburg Institute.

McDuffie said when Scotland County schools became integrated, the Black employees were told not to associate with staff from the Laurinburg Institue. He said the state of NC was upset that the McDuffies wouldn’t sell the land that housed the Laurinburg Institute. But Johnson was family and McDuffie said their relationship didn’t change.

“I still got Christmas presents from my uncle,” he said.

Johnson’s granddaughter, Thelma Dawson, a dentist and Darlington County School Board member, recalls her grandfather being her principal. She said being Johnson’s granddaughter meant she had to mind her P’s and Q’s at school. And another layer of behavioral reinforcement was that her mom taught at the school as well.

“He was a great guy. Pretty calm and he cared a lot about his students,” Dawson said.

After graduating Howard University in Washington D.C., Dawson taught music for six years, then she returned to school and became a dentist. Still, the family business of education turned her into a history maker as well. In 1982, Dawson was asked to finish the term of a Darlington County School Board member. In 2021, she’s still on the board, holding the title as the longest seated member.

For the next 11 years, Johnson headed the school, which was renamed I. Ellis Johnson in 1959. Johnson and his family settled in the Newtown section of Laurinburg, King said. While King knew Johnson from around the community, he didn’t attend the schools Johnson headed.

“He wanted to see everybody learn and get ahead,” King said.

At Johnson’s retirement dinner in 1964, state and local officials lavished praise on the principal.

The Laurinburg Exchange reported that Gibson said, “I characterize him as the dean of school men in this area.”

Edwin Gill, a native of Scotland County and the state treasurer at the time, was at Johnson’s retirement event as well. According to The Laurinburg Exchange, he said this of Johnson: “Over 50 years ago, our honored friend, I. Ellis Johnson, began a career of public service. His record is one of which this community has a right to be proud. And all of us here tonight honor ourselves by honoring him.”

Dawson said her grandfather was beloved and she’s proud that she had his influence on her life.

“A lot of people thought a lot of him. He helped a lot of people.”

Cheris Hodges can be reached at chodges@laiurinburgexchange.com.