Peter Weddick Moore was the first president of Elizabeth City State University and a North Carolina educator. Moore fought against educational segregation and for equality between whites and blacks.
Moore, who was born on June 24, 1859 to two slave parents, had a difficult childhood. His father is thought to have been murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, leaving his mother to raise him and his four siblings alone. Moore’s mother believed that all of her children should be educated and made certain that Moore attended school.
He was said to have attended a Freedmen’s Bureau-sponsored neighborhood school. Moore went on to become certified to teach in a one-room school after graduation, allowing him to pursue his academic interests further.
Moore earned an A.B. from Shaw University in 1887. In addition, the university conferred on him M.A. and LL.D. degrees in recognition of his numerous contributions to education in the state. Moore’s career began at the age of 20 when he began teaching in the Holly Grove district. He used the money he earned from teaching and cotton farming to pay for his education at Shaw University.
Moore was asked to lead the State Colored Normal School in Elizabeth City four years after starting in Plymouth. Following its opening, the school was divided into three separate schools: Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, and Winston Salem State Normal Schools.
Moore was the principal until 1928, when he retired and died six years later. Elizabeth State University bestowed the title of President Emeritus on Moore in 1928. This position provided him with a home and a salary for the rest of his life.