Professor Foster Character Analysis

Robert Foster’s father, whom everyone calls “Professor Foster,” is the well-respected principal of the only Black high school in Monroe, Louisiana and a prominent preacher at the local church. As a result, all the Black people in town know who he is—and that Robert is his son. However, many families in Monroe also hold grudges against him. He long asks for better working conditions and more funding from the state government, but to no avail. Yet eventually, Henry Carroll, one of the teachers at the school, uses his political connections to become the new principal and forces Professor Foster into retirement. Worse still, Carroll finally convinces the Governor to build a new Black high school in Monroe—and name it Carroll High School. Professor Foster, who has dedicated his entire life to educating the Black youth of Monroe, only to be forgotten, grows bitter and despondent.