Page and Warren County Coordinator Chris Anderson attended Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project’s first Memory Party at the West Luray Recreation Center on March 23, organized in partnership with Deidra Tutt, a Luray native.
Folks who attended had the opportunity to create or update their family tree, pick up a DNA test to trace genealogy, and share stories of Lewis Mountain campground in Shenandoah National Park, a picnic spot and community gathering space for African Americans during segregation.
Attendees also got a special tour of the wonderful museum in the historic Andrew Jackson School, a former Rosenwald School, highlighting the rich history of the building and the role it played in furthering African American education. Pastor Audre King, visionary and community member instrumental in the revitalization of the school, received a community leadership award during the event.
Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project intends to host more Memory Parties in conjunction with Black community members up and down the Valley to verify and enhance their Roots Run Deep tours. The Alliance is honored to play a small role in their work to help elevate the Valley’s Black cultural heritage and sense of place.
Find more information on Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project and Roots Run Deep at valleyblackheritage.org and rootsrundeep.org.
Top photo: Audrey Tutt Smith points out milestones in the school’s rich history during the museum tour.
The text on the historical marker pictured above reads: The Andrew Jackson School, named for a local Black entrepreneur, was built here in 1924-25 to serve African American Students. The Black community raised half of the %5,467 cost of the three-classroom building. Additional support came from the county and from Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck, and Co., who had partnered with Booker T. Washington in a school-building campaign and later established the Rosenwald Fund, which helped build about 5,000 schools for African Americans in the South. Before closing in 1959, Andrew Jackson offered education through the 11th grade, but Black students had to leave the county for 12th grade. Page County schools were desegregated in 1966.
Photos by Chris Anderson.