Dr. C.G. Newsome, an Ahoskie native, will be interviewed on NC Public Television (WUND – Channel 2) at 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3. The featured program is &uot;NC People.&uot;

Dr. Newsome, who was named as president of Shaw University in Raleigh in February of last year, is a 1968 graduate of Ahoskie High School. He was a defensive end on Ahoskie’s football team.

&uot;C.G. could be sitting alone in the locker room, reading his Bible and praying before practices and games,&uot; said Tommy Mitchell, a retired Ahoskie High School coach. &uot;Then, on the field, C.G. was a power to be reckoned with.&uot;

Following his high school graduation, Newsome became the first black student to sign an athletic grant to attend Duke University. At his college graduation, Newsome was the first black student Commencement speaker, sharing the stage with Walter Cronkite, the keynote speaker.

Newsome graduated Magna Cum Laude from Duke Divinity School in 1975 and continued to work at Duke while earning his Ph.D. in Religious Studies in 1982. After serving in various academic positions at Duke, Newsome accepted a position at Howard University in 1986 where he later became Dean of the Divinity School.

Dr. Newsome, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Shaw Newsome, is married to the former Lynne Platt of Charlotte. The couple has two daughters, Gina Lynn and Brittany Ann.