The City of Staunton built what it called the Booker T. Washington High School for Coloreds in 1936, and it was the high school for Black students in the Queen City for 30 years, until Staunton finally desegregated its schools in 1966.
Brown v. Board of Education, the case that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling school systems in the South to stop putting Black kids and White kids into different schools, had been decided in 1954.
Took Staunton a while to comply, obviously.
The city formally repurposed the building at the top of a steep hill in the West Johnson Street neighborhood as a community center in 2001, and in 2014, the building was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
In the here and now, city leaders are looking at breathing new life into Booker T., in line with the West End Revitalization Plan.
To that end, the city has scheduled two listening sessions to hear from local residents about what Booker T. needs to be heading into its centennial year in 2036.
The listening sessions, which will be held at the Booker T. Washington Community Center, are scheduled for:
- Monday, Oct. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Share
Chris Graham
