PENDER COUNTY, N.C. — During a time when many are removing any traces of discrimination from names of schools, parks, and public buildings, alumni of C.F. Pope High School in Burgaw fought for the restoration of the formerly segregated school's name.

“Back in the 2000s, that's when it really came up,” says Arnold Moore, the president of the school's alumni association. “We worked and worked on it, and we went to Raleigh and Raleigh denied us.”

The school was named after the man who had been principal there for nearly 40 years, but the name was changed to Burgaw Elementary in 1970 when the school was integrated. The new name represented a fresh start and inclusion to many, but the alumni and community who grew up in the halls of C.F. Pope felt like their history was being erased.

“People just passed by there and they always called me and said, 'Man, what are we gonna do about Pope? Got to get Pope back on there,'” Moore says. “There wasn't no squabbling, we just voiced our opinions about the love of our school name.”

The alumni saw restoring the school's former name as a way to honor its history, and the board of education in Pender County agreed with them.

Moore still frequently returns to the school where alumni hold reunions and display photographs and memorabilia. But knowing that after all these years, achieving his goal makes the visits even more special.

He says the best part is when the next generation asks him questions about the past.

“You walk in there and just seeing every ball game or every occasion comes back to my mind,” Moore says. “C.F. Pope and the Pirates will always be in our hearts, and they can't take that now.”