His research on one, James Edward Cheek Sr., has led Roanoke Rapids City Council to agree to adopt a resolution honoring the late educator and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
Pierce, himself an educator — a sixth grade social studies teacher at William R. Davie Middle School — made the request to honor Cheek at council’s most recent meeting this month.
“I like doing research on local black history,” Pierce said in a recent interview. “When I came upon Dr. Cheek, born in Roanoke Rapids, when you read his background, it just blows you away.”

(The full text of Pierce’s request to council is included as a PDF at the end of this story)

Pierce considers Cheek one of  his heroes. “He impacted thousands of lives. He not only educated people, but he empowered thousands of people. At the end of the day I think that’s what it’s about. We, as educators, need to be aware of the power we have to inspire and empower our young people. He understood the type of power and influence he could have on young people.”
Cheek’s accomplishments are exhaustive — born in Roanoke Rapids in 1932, he attended John Armstrong Chaloner School when it served black students during segregation and then went on to become Howard University’s longest serving president.
Those are just some of the accomplishments Pierce noted when he went before city council to request the resolution and he believes it is important for students to have an appreciation of those achievements. “Too often, the African-Americans who are celebrated or promoted to our young people are athletes or celebrities. Look at who our president met with before taking office — Kanye, Ray Lewis, Steve Harvey and Jim Brown. I think if he was really serious about improving the plight of black people in this country, those who are the descendants of slaves, he could have met with business leaders, presidents of historically black colleges and universities, black educators and teachers and administrators in extremely poor and low-performing school districts.
“People are accustomed to seeing us in sports and entertainment, not in other fields like science, mathematics, or business and doing things behind the scenes where they don’t get the type of recognition they should get.”

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Cheeks’s accomplishments can serve to show young black students “they can make their mark in education affecting more people in that way.”
Pierce contacted the Cheek family before moving forward with his request to city council. “His son said ‘it’s a shame young African-Americans don’t know about my father.’”
Also supporting Pierce in his efforts has been Roanoke Rapids City Councilman Carl Ferebee. “I have to give credit to Carl Ferebee, he’s been supportive of this since the beginning.”
Ferebee said, “I thought it was timely. From what he brought in about Dr. Cheek, I think recognizing people from this area is always good. I’m pleased he is trying to get recognition for him.”
Pierce culled information from numerous history and academic websites on Cheek as well as a Jet Magazine interview with him. “There’s a lot of information out there.”
One of the biggest things Pierce has taken from his research is, “It’s important to see there are role models who come from this community who did great things.”
Cheek’s legacy includes the resurgence of Shaw University when he was president there, rescuing the school from financial insolvency and then his longtime work as president of Howard.
During his 20-year stint at Howard, the school gained more than 3,000 students and its faculty quadrupled to nearly 2,000.
“Dr. Cheek was a man of many roles during his life,” Pierce told city council. “Husband, father, grandfather, student, teacher, minister, Air Force veteran, advocate, liaison, advisor, secretary of education, but he is best known as a college president.”
He wasn’t, however, a typical college president. “He was a capital college president, as
both of the colleges he led are located in capital jurisdictions: Shaw in our state capital of Raleigh, and Howard in our nation’s capital of Washington, D.C.
“This positioned him directly next to the seats of power in those respective locales, a position that allowed him access to have the type of influence that aided in incomparable leadership at both institutions.”
In one interview, Cheek, who died in 2010, was quoted, “In order to have influence, you have to have access.”
Said Pierce to council, “My hope is that the access you’ve granted me this evening will allow my words to influence you to adopt a resolution or proclamation recognizing the life of this exemplary man.”