Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1970
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass Elementary School
(55 Plaza Street, SE, Leesburg)
People Associated with Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
Prepared for
Loudoun County Public Schools
by Evelyn D. Causey, Ph.D. and Julia Claypool
History Matters, LLC
Edna Johnston, Principal
April 30, 2010
Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1970
Prepared for Loudoun County Public Schools by
Evelyn D. Causey, Ph.D., Senior Historian
History Matters, LLC
April 30, 2010
Introduction
In 1969, due to intervention by U.S. courts and pressure from local African Americans, Loudoun
County brought an end to segregating public schools by the race of their students. In the late 1950s and
early 1960s, school and government officials in the county generally followed the lead of other Virginia
politicians who opposed racial integration of the public schools and other public accommodations; their
responses ranged from quiet inaction to open defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling that
racial segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional. Between 1963 and 1967, the county
desegregated some of its public schools using a freedom-of-choice plan that required African-American
students to apply to transfer to schools intended for whites. In 1967, a federal judge ruled that the
freedom-of-choice plan did not meet the requirement that schools be freely and fully integrated, and
ordered the county to establish geographical attendance zones, integrate the faculty and staff, and
desegregate school bus routes. By the end of the 1968-1969 school year, school officials in Loudoun
County had implemented these reforms and integrated school facilities.
Segregation in Loudoun County’s Public School System, 1930-1960
The first schools for African Americans in Loudoun County were established in the early and
mid-19th century by northern religious groups.1 In 1870, the Virginia government mandated the
establishment of public schools and required “that white and colored persons shall not be taught in the
same school but in separate schools, under the same general regulations as to management, usefulness
1
History Matters, LLC, Loudoun County African-American Historic Architectural Resources Survey (September
2004), p. 36.
Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1969
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and efficiency.” As a result, in Loudoun County and throughout Virginia, black and white children
attended separate public schools and typically were educated by teachers of the same race. 2
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that government-imposed racial
segregation was legal, provided that the facilities for each race were equal. Despite this ruling and the
promise of parity in the 1870 Virginia law establishing public schools, public education for African
Americans throughout Virginia was in no way equal to that provided for whites. White-dominated local
governments devoted less money to schools for African Americans, provided inferior school buildings,
and offered fewer educational opportunities than they did for whites.3 For example, in 1925, Loudoun
County spent an average of $29.27 to educate each white pupil, but only $9.81 on each AfricanAmerican student. The minimum annual salary for an African-American elementary school teacher was
$315; annual salaries for white elementary school teachers started at $520.4
The inequality in school facilities and opportunities was evident in both secondary and primary
education. The county’s first high school for whites opened in 1909, while the first public high school for
African Americans in Loudoun County opened more than thirty years later, in 1941.5 In the late 1910s,
the county school superintendent and school board developed programs to replace one-room
elementary schools for whites with graded schools that served a larger geographical area, but made
little effort to consolidate schools for African Americans.6 In 1925, Loudoun County began providing
school buses for white students, while African-American students first rode county school buses in 1941.
The availability of buses was related to the establishment of consolidated schools. Because
2
Scott A. French, Craig Barton, and Peter Flora, Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Segregated
Education in Virginia: Historic Resource Study, Booker T. Washington National Monument (June 2007), p. 10
[includes quotation from the 1870 Virginia statute regarding the establishment of segregated public schools]. The
Commonwealth of Virginia re-affirmed racial segregation in public schools in its 1902 constitution (Article IX,
Section 140).
3
Richard Kluger, Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for
Equality (New York: Vintage Books, 1977), pp. 70-83; Susan Cianci Salvatore, et al, Racial Desegregation in Public
Education in the United States Theme Study (National Park Service, National Conference of State Historic
Preservation Officers, and Organization of American Historians, 2000), Section E, pp., 27, 31-21, 35, 39;; Doxey A.
Wilkerson, “The Negro School Movement in Virginia: From ‘Equalization’ to ‘Integration,’” The Journal of Negro
Education 29:1 (Winter, 1960): 17-24; French, pp. 15-21.
4
Charles Preston Poland, Jr., From Frontier to Suburbia: Loudoun County, Virginia, One of America’s Fastest
Growing Counties (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1976), p. 351.
5
“A Brief History of Loudoun County Schools,” Loudoun County Public Schools Annual Report 2001-2002, p. 14,
Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) Superintendent Files, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS); Teckla H. Cox
and Richard Calderon, Douglass High School, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia (National Register of Historic
Places Nomination, 1991), Section 8; Deborah A. Lee, African American Heritage Trail, Leesburg Virginia (Leesburg,
Virginia: Loudoun Museum, 2002), p. 34.
6
Poland, pp. 344-345, 351. In 1940, the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) approved a “program of final
consolidation of white schools,” but made no mention of a corresponding program for the consolidation of schools
for African Americans. LCSB Minute Book III, p. 93 (28 February 1940).
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consolidated schools served a larger area, they depended on motorized vehicles to transport students.
Until the late 1960s, black and white children rode separate school buses.7
Equalization, 1930-1960
Starting in the 1930s, African Americans in Loudoun County became increasingly vocal in their
demands that the public school system provide them with educational resources and facilities equal to
those provided for whites. In 1938, they formed the County-Wide League, a coalition of Parent Teacher
Associations (PTAs) affiliated with African-American schools. The League dedicated itself to improving
public education for African Americans in Loudoun County.8 In 1939, the organization purchased land
for a high school for African Americans after the school board ignored repeated requests to assist with
the purchase. The following year, after requests that the county school board build the high school fell
on deaf ears, the County-Wide League asked lawyer Charles H. Houston from the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for assistance. At the time, the NAACP was working on
a much larger school equalization campaign that was a prelude to challenging racial segregation directly.
In 1940, at Houston’s urging, Loudoun County citizens formed a local branch of the NAACP that worked
alongside the County-Wide League to improve public education for African Americans. In 1941, as a
result of the efforts of NAACP lawyers from Washington, DC, the County-Wide League, and the Loudoun
County Branch of the NAACP, Douglass High School opened in Leesburg. The establishment of the high
school, which served African-American students throughout the county, triggered the creation of school
bus routes for African-American high school pupils.9 Between 1940 and 1944, as a result of protests
from African-American teachers, the Loudoun County School Board also implemented a plan to equalize
teacher salaries.10
In the 1940s and 1950s, local African Americans urged the Loudoun County government to
improve elementary school buildings and to build graded elementary schools for African-American
children. Finding that government support for consolidated elementary schools for African Americans
7
“A Brief History of Loudoun County Schools,” p. 15; Poland, p. 344.
The Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, The Essence of a People: Portraits of
African Americans Who Made a Difference in Loudoun County, Virginia (Leesburg, Virginia: The Black History
Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, 2001), pp. 4-5, 64.
9
On the establishment of Douglass High School, see LCSB Minute Book III, pp. 36 (14 February 1939), 52 (14 March
th
1939); Douglass High School 50 Anniversary, 1914-1991 (1991), n.p., LCSB Superintendent Files, LCPS; “A Brief
History of Loudoun County Schools,” pp. 14, 15; Cox and Calderon, Section 8; Lee, p. 34. On the NAACP’s
equalization campaign, see Wilkerson, pp. 17-24; Salvatore, Racial Desegregation, pp. 54-57, 59-63, 66-68.
10
LCSB Minute Book III, pp. 86 (9 January 1940), 135 (10 December 1940).
8
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was not forthcoming, they contributed money and labor in order to ensure that the new schools were
built. In the 1940s, their efforts led to the establishment of two consolidated, graded elementary
schools for African Americans in Loudoun County: George Washington Carver Elementary School in
Purcellville (1947) and Benjamin Banneker School in St. Louis (1948).11 After these schools were
completed, they turned their attention to Douglass Elementary School in Leesburg. The school was
located in a building that until 1941, had housed the Leesburg Training School, which provided the only
secondary education available to African Americans in the county prior to the completion of Douglass
High School. In 1940, NAACP lawyer Charles Houston pointed to the unsafe conditions in this building to
illustrate the urgent need for a high school, yet the building continued to be used as an elementary
school.12 In the late 1940s, the building lacked flush toilets and was in poor condition. The CountyWide League called for the school board to build a new, graded elementary school that would replace
five small elementary schools, including the existing Douglass Elementary School.13
In the 1950s, the increased availability of state funds for school construction facilitated the
improvement of schools for African Americans in Loudoun County and throughout Virginia. The
availability of construction funds in the 1950s was due to the work of the NAACP in the previous decade.
In the 1940s, the NAACP won several lawsuits that alleged that segregated public schools for African
Americans in the U.S. were uniformly inferior to those for whites and thus did not meet the standard of
“separate but equal” set forth in Plessy v. Ferguson. In 1950, in the wake of these court cases, Virginia
Governor John S. Battle introduced a program to provide an unprecedented amount of state funding for
school construction. A portion of this fund, which was known as the Battle Fund, went to the
construction of schools for African Americans. White government officials hoped that by improving
public education for the state’s African Americans, they could delay or even avoid integrating the
schools.14 The Loudoun County School Board planned to use money provided by the Battle Fund to
improve educational facilities for both whites and African Americans. Proposed improvements to
schools for African Americans in the 1950s included additions to Banneker Elementary and Douglass
High School, and a new building for Douglass Elementary School.15
11
Black History Committee, Essence of a People, pp. 4, 21; The Black History Committee of Friends of Thomas Balch
Library, Inc., “African American Timeline,” Friends of the Thomas Balch Library,
http://www.balchfriends.org/AfricanAmericanTimeline.swf (accessed 13 April 2010), p. 22.
12
th
Lee, p. 26; Douglass High School 50 Anniversary, 1914-1991 (1991), n.p., LCSB Superintendent Files, LCPS.
13
LCSB Minute Book IV, p. 183 (8 June 1948); “Loudoun Lists School Plans for Five Years,” The Washington Post, 14
March 1951, p. B2.
14
Wilkerson, pp. 20-24, 27-28; French, pp. 41, 43.
15
LCSB Minute Book IV, pp. 293-294 (13 March 1951); LCSB Minute Book V, pp. 210-211 (23 January 1956). These
plans became mired down in the debate about the desirability of building a single consolidated high school for
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Brown and Resistance to Integration in Loudoun County, 1954-1959
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, et al
that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, reversing the Court’s 1896 decision in
Plessy v. Ferguson. The editor of the Loudoun Times-Mirror decried the ruling as an “unwise dictum”
that usurped the rights of the states; he predicted that white parents in Loudoun County who could
afford to do so would send their children to all-white private schools if the public schools were
desegregated.16 On May 20, Loudoun County school superintendent Oscar L. Emerick stated that he had
no immediate plans to integrate the county’s public schools: “We won’t do anything until we get a
directive from the Federal court and some action on the state level.”17 On June 3, the State Board of
Education instructed school superintendents not to integrate for the 1954-1955 school year pending the
development of a desegregation plan for all of Virginia.18 In November 1955, the Virginia General
Assembly proposed a plan that allowed localities to desegregate if they wished, but included provisions
that made it possible for localities and white parents to avoid sending their children to racially
integrated schools. Like most other Virginia localities, Loudoun County took no steps towards
desegregation following the announcement of this plan.19
In 1955 and 1956, much of the discussion about school desegregation in Loudoun County
focused on the issue of improvements to schools for African Americans. In May 1954, Superintendent
Emerick stated that he intended to cease all school construction projects until he had a better sense of
how the Court’s ruling would affect the school system.20 By November 1955, however, he had reversed
his position on school construction and integration. “The best way to avoid integration,” he claimed, “is
to provide equal facilities for the two races.”21 In January 1956, the Loudoun County School Board and
the Board of Supervisors attempted to use their control over funds for school construction to persuade
African-American parents to accepted segregated public education. At a joint session, members of the
whites throughout the county. The available documents suggest that Loudoun County school officials ultimately
used loans from Virginia’s Literary Fund, rather than Battle Fund money, to pay for these school construction
projects. See, for example, “School Plan in Loudoun Is Rejected,” The Washington Post, 29 November 1950, p.
B15.
16
Hubert Phipps, “The Gravest Problem,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 27 May 1954, p. 4.
17
“County Will Wait For State Action,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 20 May 1954, p. 1.
18
“School Boards Told Not To Integrate in Coming Year,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 3 June 1954, p. 1.
19
Matthew D. Lassiter and Andrew B. Lewis, eds., The Moderates’ Dilemma: Massive Resistance to School
Desegregation in Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 1998), p. 6.
20
“County Will Wait For State Action,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 20 May 1954, p. 1.
21
“School Bond Issue Urged in Loudoun,” Washington Post, 16 November 1955, p. 16.
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two boards threatened to abandon a proposed bond issue to cover the costs of new and improved
schools for African Americans unless parents expressed support for “our considerate opinion that their
education can be promoted better by their continued school attendance on a segregated basis.”22 The
County-Wide League, the Loudoun County Branch of the NAACP, and the PTAs for Banneker and Bull
Run Elementary Schools protested the resolution, stating that it “is another effort by them (School
Board and Board of Supervisors) to intimidate Negro parents, teachers and children into continuing to
accept discriminatory educational practices currently existing in this county.”23 Although the county did
in fact abandon the proposed bond issue, it nevertheless proceeded with the construction projects on
schools for African Americans by securing loans from the state Literary Fund.24
In 1956, conservative white Virginians, led by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. developed a
strategy of “Massive Resistance” to school integration. As part of this strategy, the Virginia General
Assembly passed a law that empowered the governor to close schools if the federal courts ordered their
integration. By December, Virginia had instituted a Pupil Placement Board that took the responsibility
for public school assignments away from local governments in order to ensure that no Virginia public
schools desegregated. In September 1958, the Virginia government closed several public schools after
federal courts ordered them to integrate.25
Between 1956 and 1958, white citizens and government officials in Loudoun County echoed
rhetoric of the leaders of Virginia’s Massive Resistance movement. By the summer of 1956, the county
had a chapter of the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties, an all-white organization
dedicated to preserving racial segregation in the public schools. On August 6, 1956, at the suggestion of
that organization, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution stating that it would
refuse to fund the public schools if the federal government forced their integration.26 In the late
summer of 1958, the editor of the Loudoun Times-Mirror defied the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown,
declaring that rather than being the law of the land, “the Supreme Court’s integration decision is
22
LCSB Minute Book V, p. 210-212 (23 January 1956).
“NAACP Rejects Continued Segregation in Loudoun,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 9 February 1956, p. 4. The
article quotes the resolutions submitted by the four organizations in full.
24
“Board Approves Loan Bid for New Douglass School,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 7 June 1956, Vertical File:
Public Elementary Schools, Thomas Balch Library; “$600,000 In Negro School Plans OKed,” The Loudoun TimesMirror, 6 March 1958, p. 1.
25
Robert E. Baker, “Va. Assembly Hears Backers of Stanley Plan,” The Washington Post, 8 September 1956, p. 43;
Lassiter and Lewis, pp. 6-7.
26
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Minute Book 7, p. 223 (6 August 1956); “Integration Would Close Schools
Here,” and “Defenders 100% on Fund Bar,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 9 August 1956, p. 1.
23
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spinach.”27 However, at least some white parents and teachers in Loudoun County opposed the idea
that closing the public schools was preferable to desegregation. In April 1958, Loudoun County
delegates to the Northern Virginia Congress of Parent-Teacher Associations were among those who
voted in favor of a resolution opposing school closings.28
Freedom of Choice and Token Desegregation, 1959-1967
In the early 1960s, African Americans in Loudoun County attended public school with whites for
the first time, reflecting the state government’s retreat from Massive Resistance. In 1959, after state
and federal courts ruled that the school closings were unconstitutional, Virginia officials abandoned
their policy of open defiance of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education in favor of
token desegregation. In April 1959, the General Assembly enacted a freedom-of-choice plan that
ostensibly allowed African-American students to attend the school of their choice. To appease white
conservatives, it also provided private school tuition grants, gave localities the option to close the public
schools rather than integrate, and guaranteed that no student would be forced to attend a racially
integrated school.29 Under the new law, which took effect in March 1960, the Pupil Placement Board
did place some African-American students in formerly all-white schools. However, it denied many other
applications, severely limiting the extent of desegregation in the state. In September 1960, less than
0.1% of African-American students in Virginia were enrolled in integrated schools.30
Under the freedom-of-choice plan, two schools in Loudoun County desegregated, albeit on a
limited basis. In April 1962, twelve African-American students applied to attend all-white high schools in
Loudoun County; in June, the Pupil Placement Board approved four of these applications. In early
August, the Board of Supervisors formally rescinded its 1956 resolution to deny funding to desegregated
schools, signaling its acceptance of the Pupil Placement Board’s decision. In the fall of 1962, Helen
Marie Ramey, Louis Edward Woodson, Edith Mae Smith, and Linda Lee Jackson became the first AfricanAmerican students in Loudoun County to attend public school with whites. Ramey enrolled in Loudoun
27
“No Enforced Integration,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 28 August 1958, p. 4.
Susanna McBee, “Northern Virginia Congress of P-TAs Agrees to Oppose School Closings,” The Washington Post,
20 April 1958, p. A23. Votes in favor of the resolution came from delegates from Loudoun County, Arlington
County, Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Prince William County, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.
29
Lassiter and Lewis, p. 7-8.
30
Robert A. Pratt, The Color of Their Skin: Education and Race in Richmond, Virginia, 1954-1989 (Charlottesville,
Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1992), pp. 24-25. Citing a 1960 report in the periodical Southern School News,
historian Robert A. Pratt notes that, “by September 1960, out of nearly 204,000 black pupils throughout the entire
state, fewer than 170 in eleven Virginia localities were enrolled in white schools.” (p. 25)
28
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County High School, and Woodson, Smith, and Jackson attended Loudoun Valley High School, which
opened that year.31 Faculty and staff remained segregated: white teachers and staff worked at schools
originally intended for whites, and African-American teachers and staff worked at schools serving
African-American students.
African Americans in Loudoun County were not satisfied with the Pupil Placement Board’s
acceptance of only one-third of the applications to transfer to schools intended for whites. The eight
students whose applications were rejected had applied to transfer to Loudoun County High School on
the grounds that it was closer to their respective homes than Douglass High School. Officially, the Pupil
Placement Board denied their applications, claiming that the students did not meet academic criteria.
However, the students, their parents, and African-American activists believed that their applications
were denied because the Board wanted to limit the extent of desegregation. In September 1962, the
students and their parents sued the Loudoun County School Board, the Loudoun County School
Superintendent, and Virginia’s Pupil Placement Board in U.S. District Court. Samuel W. Tucker and Otto
L. Tucker of the Virginia NAACP’s legal staff represented the students in the case.32 Soon after the suit
was filed, attorneys for the school board and Superintendent filed a motion to dismiss the suit on the
grounds that the students did not go through the appeals process set up by the Pupil Placement Board.
Judge Oren R. Lewis rejected the motion, and the case proceeded in Federal court as Corbin v. County
School Board of Loudoun County.33
In May 1963, Judge Lewis concluded that “different criteria were considered in the case of
Negro children than in the case of white children similarly situated,” and that race should not be a factor
in school assignments. During the court case, members of the Pupil Placement Board announced that,
as a result of similar cases in other Virginia localities, it intended to eradicate segregation in the public
school system. To achieve this end, the Pupil Placement Board declared that, “effective with the 196364 school year, all children in Loudoun County would be assigned to the school of their choice on an
indiscriminate basis, without regard to race, color or creed….” Judge Lewis ordered the Pupil Placement
Board to implement this plan. The judge also extended the deadline to submit applications from June 1
to June 15, 1963, providing Loudoun County students with additional time to submit applications under
31
“4 Negroes Admitted To Schools,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 28 June 1962, p. 1; “Negroes Win School Entry in
Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 27 June 1962, p. B1; LCSB Minute Book VII, p. 113 (26 June 1962); “Loudoun
Board Drops Desegregation Fight,” The Washington Post, 7 August 1962, p. A21; Loudoun County Board of
Supervisors Minute Book 8, p. 489 (6 August 1962).
32
“Negroes Win School Entry in Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 27 June 1962, p. B1; Corbin v. County School
Board of Loudoun County, 283 F.Supp. 60 (E.D. Va. 1967).
33
“Negro Suit End Sought By Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 25 September 1962, p. B2.
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the new procedures. On the day after Judge Lewis’s decision, twenty-five African-American students in
Loudoun County submitted applications to transfer to schools intended for whites.34
The freedom-of-choice plan produced limited desegregation in Loudoun County’s public schools.
In the 1966-67 school year, ten of the county’s twenty-two public schools were desegregated, and 17.7
percent of African-American students attended school with whites. No white students attended the
four schools that were constructed for African-American children.35
Integration, 1967-1968
The shift from the freedom-of-choice plan to full integration in Loudoun County had its roots in
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which the U.S. Congress enacted in response to civil rights protests
throughout the South in the 1950s and early 1960s. Title VI of the act declared that the federal
government would no longer fund any program – including public schools – that discriminated on the
basis of race. The act also authorized the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to
develop guidelines for desegregation; if localities did not meet the standards set by these guidelines,
they lost federal funding. To enforce these measures, the Civil Rights Act empowered the U.S.
Department of Justice to file suit against local officials who failed to integrate the public schools.36
Loudoun County’s public schools received federal funding through the school lunch program
and through Public Law 874, which provided money to assist local public schools in areas that were
affected by federal activities.37 Initially, Loudoun County’s court-ordered desegregation plan met the
HEW’s requirements. However, the new standards for integration as defined in the HEW guidelines
emphasized results as demonstrated by statistics for the numbers of white and African-American
students who attended integrated schools.38 With the vast majority of African-American students
34
Corbin v. County School Board of Loudoun County; “Negro Suit End Sought By Loudoun,” The Washington Post,
25 September 1962, p. B2.; “25 Negro Pupils Apply for Loudoun Transfers,” The Washington Post, 18 May 1963, p.
B3. By mid-June, fifty-four African-American students had applied to transfer to formerly all-white schools,
including the two formerly all-white high schools and Middleburg Elementary School. “School Transfers Asked,”
The Washington Post, 18 June 1963, p. B1.
35
Karolyn McKimmey, “Integration of Schools Complete, Board Told: Bus Desegregation Now Underway, Bussinger
Says,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 14 September 1967, p. 1. In addition to the two high schools (Loudoun County
High School and Loudoun Valley High School), eight elementary schools were desegregated in 1966-1967:
Middleburg, Leesburg, Lincoln, Lovettsville, Hamilton, Waterford, Arcola, and Catoctin.
36
French, p. 50-51; Salvatore, Racial Desegregation, Section E, p. 87-88.
37
LCSB Minute Book VIII, pp. [illegible] (9 March 1965), 109 (14 December 1965). The text of Public Law 874
(1950) is available online at http://nysl.nysed.gov/Archimages/91325.PDF.
38
LCSB Minute Book VIII, p. 109 (14 December 1965); Salvatore, Racial Desegregation, Section E, pp. 86-87.
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attending all-black schools and less than half of the county’s schools desegregated, Loudoun County
school officials were making little progress towards meeting these new standards. In addition, the
county continued to operate four schools that were attended solely by African Americans.
In April 1967, after investigating school conditions in Loudoun County, the U.S. Department of
Justice filed a motion in federal court to re-open the Corbin case on the grounds that the 1963 freedomof-choice plan had not resulted in the elimination of segregation in the public schools. Department of
Justice lawyers asked the court to order Loudoun County school officials to establish geographical
attendance zones and integrate all school facilities, staff, and faculty. Judge Oren R. Lewis heard the
case on August 25, 1967. Although the Department of Justice had subpoenaed more than forty
witnesses, Judge Lewis made his decision after hearing the testimony of one witness: school
Superintendent Clarence M. Bussinger. The superintendent testified that African-American students
who resided near Dulles Airport, at the eastern edge of the county, were bussed halfway across the
county to attend Douglass Elementary, a Leesburg school in which all of the teachers and students were
African American. Based on this evidence, Judge Lewis concluded that school officials in the county
continued to maintain a segregated public school system in violation of the 1963 court order. On August
29, 1967, Judge Lewis ordered the county to establish geographical attendance zones to determine pupil
placement, and to integrate the faculty, staff, and school buses.39
For the 1967-68 school year, the court order required Loudoun County to “assign all Negro
elementary school students in the system who reside outside the town limits of Leesburg to the schools
nearest their homes ….” As a result of this re-assignment, the percentage of African-American students
attending schools with whites jumped from 17.7% in the 1966-67 school year to 42% in the fall of 1967.
The new pupil assignment plan was particularly evident in the enrollment figures for Douglass
Elementary School in Leesburg, which had served African-American students residing in the eastern half
of the county. In 1966-67, the school had more than 400 students; the following year, only 135 students
attended Douglass Elementary, as students who resided outside of Leesburg began attending formerly
39
“U.S. Seeks Entry Into Court Case on Schools Here,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 27 April 1967, pp. A1, A2; Corbin
v. County School Board of Loudoun County; Karolyn McKimmey, “Schools Will Advance Integration Timetable,” The
Loudoun Times-Mirror, 31 August 1967, pp. A1, A3; Maurine McLaughlin, “Judge Bars Loudoun ‘Free’ School Plan,”
The Washington Post, 26 August 1967, p. B1. Virginia’s Pupil Placement Board, which was a co-defendant in Corbin
in 1963, was dissolved in 1966, returning the responsibility for school assignments to local officials. As a result,
Loudoun County school officials were the only defendants when the Justice Department intervened in the case in
1967.
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all-white schools closer to their homes.40 During the 1967-68 school year, the county also began
desegregating school bus routes and integrating the faculty and staff. 41
In December 1967, the Loudoun County School Board established geographical attendance
zones for all elementary schools in the county for the 1968-69 school year. The new attendance zones
closed or integrated the three remaining elementary schools attended solely by African-American
students. In the fall of 1968, Carver Elementary School housed special education programs for children
of both races. Douglass Elementary School served students in southeast Leesburg, while Banneker
Elementary School served students residing in the southwest corner of Loudoun County.42 When the
school board established the non-racial attendance zones, it also changed the name of Banneker
Elementary School, which was named after African-American scientist and mathematician Benjamin
Banneker, to Mercer Elementary School. The members of the school board contended “that the name
of the school was changed since this school will be serving … most of Mercer District.” In 1968, with the
assistance of an NAACP staff attorney, Janie S. Redwood and Charles Turner of the Banneker PTA
successfully protested the name change, which would have eradicated the reference to the school’s
African-American roots from its name. 43
The 1967 court order allowed Loudoun County additional time to establish geographical
attendance zones for the high schools because Broad Run High School was under construction at the
time. During the 1968-69 school year, African-American students who had attended Douglass High
School were assigned either to Loudoun Valley High School, Loudoun County High School, or Broad Run
High School. Since Broad Run High School was still under construction, the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders
who would be assigned to that school attended Loudoun County High School in 1968-69, and the 8th and
9th graders went to school in the Douglass High School building, which was temporarily re-named the
40
Corbin v. County School Board of Loudoun County; “Loudoun County Pushes Integration of Schools,” The
Washington Post, 16 September 1967, p. B5; Beverly Tate, “Douglass Elementary School: Student Enrollment
History (September 30) [1950-2009],” provided to the author, 21 April 2010.
41
“Loudoun County Pushes Integration of Schools,” The Washington Post, 16 September 1967, p. B5; “School
Boundaries Redrawn by Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 14 December 1967, p. B7; LCSB Minute Book VIII, p.
[illegible] (12 September 1967).
42
“School Boundaries Redrawn by Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 14 December 1967, p. B7; LCSB Minute Book
IX, p. 9 (12 December 1967).
43
“School Boundaries Redrawn by Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 14 December 1967, p. B7; LCSB Minute Book
IX, pp. 21 [quotation] (13 February 1968), 38-39 (19 March 1968), 70 (13 May 1968); “School Bond Goal Raised in
Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 16 May 1968, p. B6. By mid-August 1968, the school board was again referring to
the school as Banneker Elementary. LCSB Minute Book IX, p. 96 (13 August 1968).
History Matters, LLC
page 11
Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1969
April 30, 2010
Broad Run Annex.44 Following the completion of Broad Run High School in the fall of 1969, school
officials used Douglass High School for administrative offices.45
Between 1967 and 1969, Loudoun County school officials desegregated the faculty throughout
the school system.46 In February 1968, after the school board announced appointments for 1968-69,
Charles Turner of the Banneker Elementary School PTA protested the treatment of the four AfricanAmerican principals. Fred Drummond, the principal of Douglass Elementary School, was named
assistant principal of Broad Run High School, which was originally scheduled to open in January 1969.
James B. Woodson, the principal of Douglass High School, was appointed to be one of two assistant
principals at Loudoun Valley High School. The principals of Banneker Elementary School and Carver
Elementary School left the school system. Turner argued that these represented unfair demotions, but
the members of school board did not alter the assignments.47 In 1969 and 1970, the Loudoun County
Branch of the NAACP, represented by Lou Etta Watkins, pressured the Loudoun County School Board to
hire African-American teachers, arguing that the county was showing a preference for white teachers.48
Conclusion
For most of the first one hundred years of public education in Loudoun County, the public
schools in the county were rigidly segregated by race in accordance with Virginia law. In 1954, the U.S.
Supreme Court affirmed that racial segregation in public schools constituted discrimination. The process
of dismantling segregation in Loudoun County’s schools began in the 1930s and 1940s with demands for
equal educational opportunities, and accelerated in the 1960s as African-American activists used the
courts to force state and local authorities to eliminate all vestiges of racial segregation in the schools. By
1970, the centennial of public education in Virginia, Loudoun County operated a fully desegregated
public school system that made student, teacher, and staff assignments based on non-racial factors.
44
“8,758 Pupils Enrolled in ‘68,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 12 September 1968, p. A3.
th
Douglass High School 50 Anniversary, 1914-1991 (1991), n.p., LCSB Superintendent Files, LCPS. From 19711976, the building was used as a middle school and called Leesburg Middle School. However, local residents
protested the name change, and the building’s original name was restored.
46
“Schools Now Integrated In Loudoun,” The Washington Post, 13 September 1968, p. A23; LCSB Minute Book IX,
pp. 21 (13 February 1968), 55 (11 April 1968).
47
LCSB Minute Book IX, pp. 18 (9 January 1968), 21 (13 February 1968), 38-39 (19 March 1968).
48
LCSB Minute Book IX, pp. 146 (11 March 1969), 177 (10 June 1969); LCSB Minute Book X, p. 292 (14 July 1970).
45
History Matters, LLC
page 12
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass Elementary School (55 Plaza Street, SE, Leesburg)
April 30, 2010
History Matters, LLC
Abbreviations Used:
Douglass ES – Douglass Elementary School
Board or LCSB– Loudoun County School Board
LCSB MB – Loudoun County School Board Minute Book
Douglass HS – Douglass High School
LCPS – Loudoun County Public Schools
Year
1948
1950
1951
1951
1953
1954
1955
1955
1955
1956
Day/Month Event
8-Jun
Request by County-Wide League for new school or new rooms at Douglass ES.
Virginia Governor John S. Battle announced large-scale school construction program,
known as the Battle Fund.
13-Mar
LCSB approved school construction program: Douglass ES (8 rooms, auditorium, etc.)
to be built 1954; total cost of building $150,000, land $5,000.
14-May
Superintendent Emerick letter: "program of school construction provides for a new
school building on a new site to accommodate these [Douglass ES] children and those
at the Waterford, Ashburn and Mt. Gap Schools."
14-Dec
Committee of County-Wide League appeared before LCSB and requested new building
for Douglass ES.
13-Jun
Building program sent to State Board of Education included new Douglass ES: 10
rooms and auditorium, etc. to accommodate 300 pupils; $290,000 estimated cost.
10-Oct
LCSB planned to consider new building for Douglass ES at next meeting.
11-Oct
LCSB began discussing methods of financing building program including new building
for Douglass ES.
12-Dec
LCSB resolution for early action for new building.
23-Jan
LCSB took steps toward building new Douglass ES that would serve the AfricanAmerican students then attending Ashburn, Bull Run, Mt. Gap, Waterford, and existing
Douglass ES; 12 classrooms, library, office, clinic, kitchen, auditorium.
Source
LCSB MB IV, p. 183
LCSB MB IV, p. 294
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB V, p. 126
LCSB MB V, p. 147
LCSB MB V, p. 202
Washington Post, 11 Oct
1955
LCSB MB V, p. 206
LCSB MB V, p.211
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass ES
April 30, 2010
Year
1956
1956
1956
Day/Month
9-Jul
19-Jul
23-Jul
1956
26-Jul
1956
1956
1956
14-Aug
28-Aug
14-Sep
1956
1956
9-Oct
13-Nov
1956
1957
1957
12-Feb
11-Jun
1957
1957
1957
1957
1957
1957
9-Jul
13-Aug
13-Aug
13-Sep
8-Oct
17-Oct
History Matters, LLC
Event
Special meeting of LCSB scheduled for July 19 to consider land purchase.
LCSB voted to purchase land for new Douglass ES.
Douglass ES PTA adopted motion approving purchase of 9½ acres on and near Route
643 from Arthur T. Elgin, Jr., John Allen Johnston, and Harry I. Tiffany to build new
elementary school.
LCSB signed contracts with Johnston, Tiffany and Elgin for total of $25,750 to purchase
land.
Douglass ES PTA approved lots; superintendent to have contour map prepared.
LCSB interviewed architectural firms.
Superintendent reported deeds recorded; Earl B. Bailey and Charles D. Patton selected
as architects.
Contour map completed; architect contract signed.
Plans and specs completed; superintendent asked Leesburg Town Council to connect
sewer for new Douglass ES to Douglass HS sewer line.
John W. Tolbert, Jr. responsible for selecting site for Douglass ES.
Elgin property (2.433) acres conveyed to LCSB.
Plans for Douglass ES approved by State Supervisor of School Buildings and Literary
Loan. Plans ES included 8 rooms, auditorium, kitchen, office, clinic.
State Board of Education approved request for Literary Fund Loan ($225,000).
LCSB approved interest rate increase on State Literary Loan.
Architect request for payment.
State Board of Education approved release of funds.
LCSB rejected all contractor bids as too high.
Bailey and Patton presented proposals to reduce costs such as changing heating
system from steam to hot water; solid wall construction to cavity wall construction;
lowering the building; installing one boiler instead of two; and excluding water and
sewer systems from the basic bid. LCSB accepted these revisions with the
understanding that quality of construction would not be impaired, that steam heat
would be used, that bids again be requested, but only Virginia firms be invited to bid.
Source
LCSB MB V, p. 236-237
LCSB MB V, p. 238-239
Superintendent Files
Times-Mirror, 9 August 1956
LCSB MB V, p. 240-241
LCSB MB V, p. 244
LCSB MB V, p. 245-246
LCSB MB VI, p. 1
LCSB MB VI, p. 4
"Loudoun African-American
History, Misc" file; 4-20-78
campaign bio
LCSB MB VI, p. 13-14
LCSB MB VI, p. 41, 42
LCSB MB VI, p. 48
LCSB MB VI, p. 51, 53
LCSB MB VI, p. 53
LCSB MB VI, p. 55
LCSB MB VI, p. 59
LCSB MB VI, p. 61
page 2
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass ES
April 30, 2010
Year
1957
1957
1957
1957
1957
Day/Month Event
Superintendent instructed to investigate possibilities for local water supply available to
proposed school and possible reductions to sewerage system.
31-Oct
North American Contracting Corp. wrote letter to Virginia Education Board protesting
the School Board's decision to limit bidding to Virginia firms.
12-Nov
Commonwealth's Attorney issued opinion on North American Contracting
Corporation's protest about limiting rebidding to Virginia firms.
12-Nov
Bailey and Patton proceeded with rebidding on Nov. 26.
13-Nov
Superintendent Bussinger sent a response letter to the Virginia Dept. of Education
regarding North American Contracting Corp. protest.
26-Nov
Construction bids received, including one from North American Contracting Corp.
1957
1958
10-Dec
14-Jan
1958
1958
1958
14-Jan
14-Jan
14-Jan
1958
15-Jan
1958
1958
1958
11-Feb
25-Feb
25-Feb
1958
1958
1958
25-Feb
11-Mar
11-Mar
1958
11-Mar
History Matters, LLC
Bid of Earl K. Rosti of Falls Church for $225,050 accepted.
Leesburg water main to Douglass HS to be extended to Douglass ES; no fees charged
for connecting fire hydrants at Douglass HS and Douglass ES.
LCSB paid Bailey and Patton for their services.
Rosti contract alternative of $3,300 for sewer facilities to be deleted from contract.
LCSB requested $35,000 on Douglass ES Literary Loan [state held allotted loan money
until LCSB requested it in increments].
Letter from Division Superintendent: Leesburg won court case on annexation of
Loudoun County property including proposed Douglass ES site, so Leesburg will furnish
water and sewer to the school.
LCSB noted that architect's fees are in agreement with contract.
Sewer system to connect to Douglass ES just outside building.
LCSB accepted proposal by Rosti to construct 4 additional classrooms on north side of
building.
Request for approval of additional Literary Loans.
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved request for additional $65,000 loan.
Rosti instructed to proceed with 4 additional classrooms and raising lower end of
buildings.
Bailey and Patton submitted plans for "Additions and Revisions to Douglass Elem
School…"
Source
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB VI, p. 63
LCSB MB VI, p. 64
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB VI, p. 66;
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB VI, p. 68
LCSB MB VI, p.70
LCSB MB VI, p.71
LCSB MB VI, p.72
LCSB MB VI, p.72
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB VI, p.75
LCSB MB VI, p.78
LCSB MB VI, p.78
LCSB MB VI, p.79
LCSB MB VI, p.80
LCSB MB VI, p.81
Superintendent Files
page 3
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass ES
April 30, 2010
Year
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
Day/Month Event
17-Apr
Leesburg provided water mains and sewer lines.
5-May
Douglass ES Principal Fred Drummond sent letter to parents at Oak Grove (Herndon)
asking whether they planned to send their children to the new Douglass ES.
12-May
Bailey (architect): Change Order No.2--raising back wing; adding 4 classrooms; and
connecting to public sewer.
13-May
Leesburg requested change in plans for water main.
13-May
LCSB authorized purchase of kitchen equipment.
13-May
In accordance with requirements of School Planning Manual, Douglass ES addition to
be lighted by daylight, with fluorescent lighting used as supplementary source as in the
rest of the building.
10-Jun
Additional quotes for purchase of kitchen equipment.
8-Jul
Kitchen equipment purchased from Powell & Co. for $9228.
8-Jul
Leesburg easements to cross Douglass ES property with sewer lines.
8-Jul
Change order; vault door purchased.
8-Jul
LCSB authorized purchase of other equipment and furniture for Douglass ES.
2-Sep
School started in new Douglass ES building; teachers in on August 26. The new school
building had twelve teachers and 401 students enrolled; the previous year, in the old
Douglass ES building, the school had six teachers and 210 students.
1958
1958
1958
1959
1959
14-Oct
14-Oct
11-Nov
13-Jan
10-Feb
1959
1959
1959
1959
1959
10-Feb
10-Mar
10-Mar
10-Mar
31-Mar
History Matters, LLC
Insurance for new boiler; settlement with Rosti for variation in cafeteria tile floor.
Change order.
Inspection tour by architects and LCSB.
LCSB directed that relief valves be installed on boiler.
LCSB approved request of Rev. Morris to use Douglass HS and Douglass ES to host
Northern Virginia Baptist Association on August 18-21.
LCSB authorized purchase of stage curtains.
Parent delegation asked LCSB to furnish clinic and teachers' lounge rooms.
LCSB approved furniture and equipment for Douglass ES clinic and teachers' lounge.
Old Douglass ES to be auctioned April 4, 1959.
Old Douglass ES retained and leased to Loudoun County National Guard.
Source
LCSB MB VI, p.91, 93-94
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB VI, p.96
LCSB MB VI, p.98
LCSB MB VI, p.100
LCSB MB VI, p.101
LCSB MB VI, p.106
LCSB MB VI, p.107
LCSB MB VI, p.107
LCSB MB VI, p.108
Times-Mirror, 7 August 1958;
Douglass Elementary
Enrollment Index, 1956-1965
(LCPS).
LCSB MB VI, p.120
LCSB MB VI, p.121
LCSB MB VI, p.123
LCSB MB VI, p.131
LCSB MB VI, p.136
LCSB MB VI, p.136
LCSB MB VI, p.140
LCSB MB VI, p.145
LCSB MB VI, p. 145
LCSB MB VI, p. 146
page 4
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass ES
April 30, 2010
Year
1959
1959
1959
1961
1961
Day/Month
14-Apr
24-May
13-Oct
14-Mar
11-Apr
1961
9-May
1961
13-Jun
1961
1961
1961
13-Jun
27-Jun
8-Aug
1961
12-Sep
1961
1961
1963
1963
1963
12-Sep
10-Oct
14-Feb
9-Apr
16-May
1964
1964
1965
9-Jun
14-Jul
14-Dec
1966
13-Sep
History Matters, LLC
Event
Plans submitted for open house or dedication of Douglass ES on Sunday, May 24, 1959.
Dedication program for Douglass ES held on Sunday, May 24, 1959, at 2 pm.
Old Douglass ES considered for School Board Office space.
LCSB rejected Elgin's offer to sell one acre adjacent to Douglass ES.
Mothers' Educational Club requested use of Douglass ES grounds for summer
playground for preschoolers; approved.
Earl B. Bailey employed to make preliminary drawings on proposed 6-room addition to
Douglass ES.
Bailey discussed preliminary plans for addition; 60" culvert for excess water, 450 feet
of pipe.
LCSB approved preliminary plans for Douglass ES addition.
Preliminary plans for Douglass ES addition sent to Richmond.
Borings should be made at Douglass ES to determine whether site usable for
playground after addition made.
LCSB discovered that Douglass ES had serious site problems that would affect the
future of school plant; LCSB voted additional study on proposed addition.
Bailey bill for $1900 for preliminary plans for Douglass ES addition.
Principal Drummond requested clerk be employed 5 days instead of 3 days per week.
Louis Roberts from Douglass ES PTA requested equipment and repairs.
"Some patrons" requested multi-purpose room be enlarged.
Federal Judge Oren R. Lewis ruled that the Virginia Pupil Placement Board must
approve students' applications to transfer schools regardless of race. Following this
ruling, some African-American students in Loudoun County enrolled in formerly allwhite schools. Douglass ES continued to be attended solely by African Americans.
Douglass ES request to use school bus for 6 weeks during summer program; granted.
Request granted for Douglass ES to use 2 school buses to go to Glen Echo.
Citizen asked LCSB why African-American elementary students living in Purcellville area
couldn't attend Douglass ES; school board responded that it was following court
orders.
Boiler insurance renewed.
Source
LCSB MB VI, p. 148
LCSB MB VI, p. 156
LCSB MB VI, p. 179
LCSB MB VII, p. 12
LCSB MB VII, p. 16, 23
LCSB MB VII, p. 33
LCSB MB VII, p. 35
LCSB MB VII, p. 37
LCSB MB VII, p. 41
LCSB MB VII, p. 48, 50
LCSB MB VII, p. 53
LCSB MB VII, p. 53
LCSB MB, VII, p. 63
LCSB MB VII, p. 155
LCSB MB VII, p. 171
LCSB MB VII, p. 247, 248
LCSB MB VIII, p. 6
LCSB MB VIII, p. 110
LCSB MB VIII, p. 168
page 5
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass ES
April 30, 2010
Year
1967
1967
1967
1967
1967
1967
1967
1967
1968
1968
1968
1968
1968
Day/Month Event
9-Jan
Delegation requested black top driveway and play area, library furniture, help for
library, telephone for principal's office and library, outside lights. Four hundred twenty
(420) students enrolled at Douglass ES.
21-Apr
School carnival Friday evening.
11-Jul
"Operation Advance Summer" program held at Douglass ES and seven other
elementary schools in Loudoun County; goal of the program was to improve reading
and arithmetic levels of achievement for 600 elementary children.
29-Aug
U.S. District Court ordered Loudoun County to use geographical attendance zones to
determine pupil placement, and required the county to integrate school faculty, staff,
and buses.
5-Sep
In accordance with the U.S. District Court order, "all Negro elementary students
outside the Leesburg corporate limits be assigned to schools in their respective
geographical areas." Students in Aldie, Dulles, and other areas of the county
transferred from Douglass ES to schools that were originally built for whites. As a
result of these transfers, enrollment at Douglass ES dropped from 439 in 1966-67 to
135 in 1967-68.
12-Dec
LCSB chairman signed right-of-way agreement with Virginia Electric and Power
Company for Douglass ES site.
12-Dec
Attendance area established for Douglass ES in accordance with U.S. District Court
order [east side of Rt. 15 south from intersection with Evergreen Mill Road and south
of Market Street to junction with Edwards Ferry Road, south of Edwards Ferry Road].
All students in that attendance area, regardless of race, attended Douglass ES in the
fall of 1968.
14-Dec
Richard Moore, VP of Douglass ES PTA requested black top, lights, basement
renovation, new shades, kitchen renovation, and other improvements.
9-Jan
Principal Fred Drummond of Douglass ES appointed assistant principal at Broad Run
High School.
11-Apr
Avery K. Brace appointed principal of Douglass ES
13-Aug
Roger Bicksler, principal of Lucketts ES, appointed principal of Douglass ES.
13-Aug
LCSB granted permission for surface treatment or blacktopping at Douglass ES.
3-Sep
Douglass ES desegregated. The student body included approximately ninety (90) white
students. Enrollment rose from 135 in 1967-68 to 228 in 1968-69 as a result of
History Matters, LLC
Source
LCSB MB VIII, pp. 182-183
Times-Mirror, 20 Apr 1967
Times-Mirror, 13 Jul 1967
Times-Mirror, 31 Aug 1967;
Douglass Elementary School:
Student Enrollment History,
1950-2009 (LCPS)
LCSB MB IX, p. 8
LCSB MB IX, p. 9
LCSB MB IX, p. 11
LCSB MB IX, p. 18
LCSB MB IX, p. 59
LCSB MB IX, p. 98
LCSB MB IX, p. 96
Times-Mirror, 12 Sept 1968;
Washington Post, 14 Dec
page 6
Timeline of Events Associated with Douglass ES
April 30, 2010
Year
1968
1970
1971
1971
1971
1971
1982
1982
1982
1991
1993
1994
2001
Day/Month Event
desegregation and pupil assignments based on geographical attendance areas. The reassignments alleviated crowded conditions at Cactoctin and Leesburg Elementary
Schools.
Sept
Lisa Randolph was one of only two African-American children in her first-grade class at
Douglass ES.
9-Jun
Anthony Rudzinski appointed principal of Douglass ES.
9-Mar
LCSB approved Jehovah's Witnesses' request to use Douglass ES for up to 6 months
while their church was being built.
9-Mar
LCSB approved asphalt repairs at Douglass ES.
13-Apr
Asphalt paving at Douglass ES underway.
11-May
Students residing east of Route 15 in corporate limits of Leesburg attended Douglass
ES.
Jun
Douglass ES ceased use as elementary school.
26-Aug
Douglass E.S. converted into a warehouse and maintenance facility; Douglass ES
students transferred to Catoctin and Leesburg Elementary Schools.
Sep
Douglass ES housed special education programs for elementary students and
preschoolers.
Jun
Douglass ES ceased use for elementary special education.
Sep
Douglass ES used for Starting Towards Excellence in Preschool (STEP) as well as
preschool special education.
Douglass ES also used by Head Start in 1994-95 school year.
Jun
Douglass ES ceased use for preschool special education and STEP.
History Matters, LLC
Source
1967 and 13 Sept 1968
Washington Post, 11 Sept
2008
LCSB MB X, p. 285
LCSB MB X, p. 355
LCSB MB X, p. 356
LCSB MB X, p. 368
LCSB MB X, p. 390
Beverly Tate email (LCPS)
Times-Mirror, 26 Aug 1982
Beverly Tate email (LCPS)
Beverly Tate email (LCPS)
Beverly Tate email (LCPS)
Beverly Tate email (LCPS)
Beverly Tate email (LCPS)
page 7
People Associated With Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
April 30, 2010
History Matters, LLC
Abbreviations Used:
Douglass ES – Douglass Elementary School
LCSB MB – Loudoun County School Board Minute Book
Douglass HS – Douglass High School
Notes:
The dates in the School Term(s) at Douglass ES column are the first and last dates the person appeared in the records as being associated
with the school. Lists of employees and PTA members were not available for all years, so these dates do not necessarily reflect the dates
they started and completed their association with Douglass ES.
If no year appears in the School Term(s) at Douglass ES column for a teacher, the name appeared on a list of Douglass ES teachers in the
Superintendent Files, but the teacher was not located in the LCSB Minute Books through June 1971.
In the Year Left Douglass ES column, years are only given when retirement or transfer dates appeared in the records.
Last Name
Adams
Aldridge
Ambers
Anderson
Arter
Bailey
Barbara
Barber
Barclift
First Name
Donna L.
Janie
Charles
Amy H.
Violet E.
Earl B.
Jane
Eugene M.
Velma
Position
Teacher
Teacher
Douglass ES PTA
Teacher
Teacher
Architect for Douglass ES
Douglass ES PTA
Douglass ES PTA
Teacher
School
Term(s) at
Douglass ES
1971
1962-1963
1956
1968-1970
1958-1967
1956
1956
1956
1961
Year Left
Douglass ES
1962
Source
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
People Associated With Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
April 30, 2010
Last Name
Battle
Bentley
Berry
Bicksler
First Name
Myrtle Taylor
George
Joe
Roger
Position
Teacher
Teacher
Douglass ES PTA
Principal; transferred from Lucketts
ES
Brace
Brown
Burton
Bushrod
Cardwell
Carter
Clemens
Coe
Coleman
Avery K.
David J.
Coreina L.
Irene M.
Emma J.
Juanita
Emma S.
Barbara
Alene J.
Cox
School
Term(s) at
Douglass ES
Year Left
Douglass ES
Source
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB
1969
1956
1968
1970
Principal
Teacher
Teacher
Secretary
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Parent of Douglass ES student
Teacher; transferred from Banneker
ES
1968
1968-1969
1966
1959-1961
1961-1962
1963
1969-1970
1967
1959
1968
Cathleen O.
Teacher
1958-1959
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB/
Times-Mirror, 21 Aug 1958
Cragg
Carol D.
Teacher; transferred from Catoctin
ES
1968
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Crosen
Curry
Daye
Drummond
Drummond, Jr.
Echols
Shirley
Emma E.
Lillie V.
Peggy
Fred E.
Parthenia
Teacher; transferred to Hamilton ES
Teacher
Teacher
Secretary & library clerk
Principal
Teacher; transferred to Douglass HS
1969
1966-1967
1963
1962-1970
1959
History Matters, LLC
1970
1961
1970
1968
1968
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB
MB/Times-Mirror, 13 Sept 1967
page 2
People Associated With Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
April 30, 2010
Last Name
Elgin, Jr.
First Name
Arthur R.
Ellis
Ellis
Evans
Farrand
Henrietta G.
Henrietta G.
Dorothy C.
Betty
Foutz
Furr
Galperin
Gaston
Graffon
Gray
Gross
Haberlein
Hardie
Hardy
Heilman
Howard
Hurt
Jackson
Jackson
Jackson
Jackson
Jackson
Johnson
Catherine
Flossie S.
Ann
Pauline D.
Linda J.
Mildred Boyde
Helen L.
Bernard
Leona R.
James W.
Lucille
Ida
Marvin R.
Rachel
Ralph
Juanita
Lola H.
Mary C.
John Allen
History Matters, LLC
Position
Sold land for Douglass ES; school bus
driver
Teacher; transferred out
Principal, old Douglass ES
Teacher
Teacher; transferred from Catoctin
ES
Vocal solo at dedication ceremony
Librarian
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Parent of Douglass ES student
Parent of Douglass ES student
Teacher
Parent of Douglass ES student
Teacher
Teacher
Janitor
Douglass ES PTA, President
Douglass ES PTA
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Sold land for Douglass ES
School
Term(s) at
Douglass ES
1956
1959
1951-1958
1961
1968
1959
1968-1969
1970
1965
1970
1949
1963
1969
1965
1969
1968
1959-1960
1958-1971
1956
1956
1954-1956
1958
1956-1958
1956
Year Left
Douglass ES
1968
1967
1968
1968
Source
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Times-Mirror, 28 May 1959
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
page 3
People Associated With Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
April 30, 2010
School
Term(s) at
Douglass ES
1949-1956
1961-1967
Year Left
Douglass ES
1968
Last Name
Johnson
First Name
Geraline J.
Position
Teacher
Jones
King
Ellwood
Wilson
Teacher
Music teacher
1954-1955
LCSB MB
DHS Reunion (1991)
/Superintendent Files
Langford
Lee
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Maitland
Louise M.
Doretha A.
Connie R.
Linda
Mary
Patricia
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher; transferred from
Lovettsville ES
1965
1960
1966
1970
1968
1968
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Marcus
McFarland
McKenney
Arnetta L.
Marilu
Lula L.
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
1963
1969
1958-1964
1968
McKenzie
Middleton
Moore
Morris
Geraldine
John
Richard
J.C.
1970
1956
1967
1959
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
LCSB MB
LCSB MB/Times-Mirror, 28 May
1959
Moss
Moten
Newman
Norton
Patton
Carolyn E.
Thomas
Alberta
Mary
Charles D.
Teacher
Douglass ES PTA, Secretary
Douglass ES PTA, Vice President
Pastor, Providence Baptist Church,
Leesburg; invocation at dedication
ceremony
Teacher
Janitor
Vocal solo at dedication ceremony
Teacher
Architect for Douglass ES
1968
1954-1957
1959
1959
1956
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Times-Mirror, 28 May 1959
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
History Matters, LLC
1958
Source
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB
MB/Times-Mirror, 21 Aug 1958
page 4
People Associated With Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
April 30, 2010
School
Term(s) at
Douglass ES
1967
1955
Last Name
Payne
Pendleton
Phoebe
Prather
Raikes
Ramey
Randolph
First Name
Gabreell
John
Darlene
Bonita
Ann S.
Hester
Mary
Position
Teacher
Teacher; transferred out
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Douglass ES PTA
Parent of Douglass ES student
Randolph
Reddick
Redwood
Renville
Richardson
Roberts
Lisa
Emory J.
Janie S.
Martha G.
Juanita
Lewis (Louis V.)
1st grader
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
President, Douglass ES PTA
1968
1962
1958-1965
1970
1964
1959-1963
Roberts
Roberts
Robinson
Robinson
Charles H.
Leona H.
Cathleen C.
Leona R. or
Lillian T.
Teacher
Librarian
Teacher
Teacher
1965-1967
1967
1960
1964-1965
Rosti
Rudzinski
Russell
Scott
Smith
Summerville
Earl K.
Anthony
Kathleen
Catherine V.
Eleanor D.
Margaret W.
General contractor for Douglass ES
Principal
Teacher
Teacher
Secretary
Teacher
1956
1970-1971
History Matters, LLC
Year Left
Douglass ES
1968
1969-1970
1956
1968
1969-1970
1955-1958
1956-1958
1965
Source
Times-Mirror, 31 Aug 1967
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files;
Washington Post, 11 Sept. 2008
Washington Post, 11 Sept. 2008
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB/Times-Mirror, 28 May
1959
1966
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
1959
LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
page 5
People Associated With Douglass Elementary School, 1954-1970
April 30, 2010
Last Name
Taylor
Thompson
Tiffany
Tillman
Tolbert
First Name
Myrtle B.
Eleanor
Harry I.
Lillian
John
Position
Teacher
Teacher
Sold land for Douglass ES
Teacher
Douglass ES PTA
Toth
Wanzer
Williams
Williams
Woodall
Young
Wade
Janie
Lula M.
Mary Lou
Carolyn M.
Diane
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Music teacher
History Matters, LLC
School
Term(s) at
Douglass ES
1965-1966
1961-1963
1956
1964-1965
1956
Year Left
Douglass ES
1967
1967
1966-1967
1970
1969
1964
1970
1965
Source
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/TimesMirror, 26 Jan 1956
Times-Mirror, 31 Aug 1967
Superintendent Files
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
Superintendent Files/LCSB MB
page 6
Bibliography:
Douglass Elementary School and Desegregation in Loudoun County
April 30, 2010
History Matters, LLC
Primary Sources
Corbin v. County School Board of Loudoun County. 283 F.Supp. 60 (E.D. Va. 1967). Google Scholar.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4078978533998004338&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&
oi=scholarr (accessed 29 March 2010).
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Minute Books, 1956-1962 [microfilm]. Thomas Balch Library,
Leesburg, Virginia.
Loudoun County Public Schools. “Enrollment in Elementary Grades 1-7 on September 5, 1968.” Copy
provided to the author by Beverly Tate, Loudoun County Public Schools, 21 April 2010.
———. “September 30 Membership History by Elementary School.” Copy provided to the author by
Beverly Tate, Loudoun County Public Schools, 21 April 2010.
———. Index card showing enrollment in Douglass Elementary School, 1956-1965. Copy provided to
the author by Beverly Tate, Loudoun County Public Schools, 21 April 2010.
Loudoun County School Board Superintendent Files. Loudoun County Public Schools, Ashburn, Virginia.
Douglass Elementary School: List of Teachers, 1957-1969.
1951 correspondence regarding Old Douglass Elementary School.
Douglass Elementary School Construction.
Douglass High School 50th Anniversary, 1914-1991 (1991).
1940 correspondence regarding need for new Douglass High School.
1940 correspondence regarding equal pay for white and black teachers.
1940-41 correspondence regarding separate facilities & transportation.
“A Brief History of Loudoun County Schools,” Loudoun County Public Schools Annual Report
2001-2002.
Loudoun County School Board Minute Books. Loudoun County Public Schools, Ashburn, Virginia.
Minute Book III (July 5, 1938 – June 11, 1944).
Minute Book IV (February 17, 1944 – June 20, 1951).
Minute Book V (July 10, 1951 – September 14, 1956).
Minute Book VI (October 9, 1956 – December 16, 1960).
Minute Book VII (June 10, 1961 – June 9, 1964).
Minute Book VIII (July 1, 1964 – October 24, 1967).
Minute Book IX (November 14, 1967 – June 24, 1969).
Minute Book X (July 1, 1969 – June 29, 1971).
The Loudoun Times-Mirror, 1954-1969.
Tate, Beverly. “Douglass Elementary School: Student Enrollment History (September 30) *1950-2009+.”
Provided to the author, 21 April 2010.
Bibliography for Douglass ES and Desegregation in Loudoun County
April 30, 2010
Virginia State Board of Education. Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the
Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1950-1953.
Virginia State Board of Education. Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the
Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Commonwealth of Virginia State Board of
Education, 1954-1962.
The Washington Post, 1950-2009.
Secondary Sources
Black History Committee of the Friends of Thomas Balch Library. “African American Timeline.” Friends
of the Thomas Balch Library. http://www.balchfriends.org/AfricanAmericanTimeline.swf (accessed
13 April 2010).
———. The Essence of a People: Portraits of African Americans Who Made a Difference in Loudoun
County, Virginia. Leesburg, Virginia: The Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas
Balch Library, 2001.
Cox, Teckla H., and Richard Calderon. Douglass High School, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia.
National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 1991.
French, Scott A., Craig Barton, and Peter Flora. Booker T. Washington Elementary School and
Segregated Education in Virginia: Historic Resource Study, Booker T. Washington National
Monument. Prepared under cooperative agreement with the Carter G. Woodson Institute for
African-American and African Studies, University of Virginia for the National Park Service, U.S.
Department of the Interior, June 2007.
Hershman, James H. “Massive Resistance.” In Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, “Encyclopedia
Virginia.” http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Massive_Resistance (accessed 7 April 2010).
History Matters, LLC. Loudoun County African-American Historic Architectural Resources Survey.
Sponsored by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and The Black History Committee of the
Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Virginia, September 2004.
Kluger, Richard. Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle
for Equality. New York: Vintage Books, 1977.
Lassiter, Matthew D., and Andrew B. Lewis, eds. The Moderates’ Dilemma: Massive Resistance to School
Desegregation in Virginia. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1998.
Lee, Deborah A. African American Heritage Trail, Leesburg Virginia. Leesburg, Virginia: Loudoun
Museum, 2002.
Poland, Charles Preston, Jr. From Frontier to Suburbia: Loudoun County, Virginia, One of America’s
Fastest Growing Counties. Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1976.
Pratt, Robert A. The Color of Their Skin: Education and Race in Richmond, Virginia, 1954-1989.
Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1992.
Raflo, Frank. Within the Iron Gates. Leesburg, Virginia: Frank Raflo; printed by Loudoun-Times Mirror,
1988.
Saffer, Wynne C. Loudoun Votes, 1867-1966: A Civil War Legacy. Westminster, Maryland: Willow Bend
Books, 2002.
History Matters, LLC
page 2
Bibliography for Douglass ES and Desegregation in Loudoun County
April 30, 2010
Salvatore, Susan Cianci. New Kent School and George W. Watkins School, New Kent County, Virginia.
National Historic Landmark Nomination, 2001.
Salvatore, Susan Cianci, et al. Racial Desegregation in Public Education in the United States Theme
Study. National Park Service, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and
Organization of American Historians, 2000.
Valentine Museum-Richmond History Center. “Timeline of Richmond School Desegregation.”
http://www.valentinemuseum.com/busing/busingTimeline.html (accessed 29 June 2002).
Wilkerson, Doxey A. “The Negro School Movement in Virginia: From ‘Equalization’ to ‘Integration.’”
Journal of Negro Education 29:1 (Winter 1960): 17-29.
History Matters, LLC
page 3