(Chatham) — Some pioneering Pittsylvania County high school students have been honored by the County.
The Freedom of Choice Committee began work two-and-a-half years ago to commemorate the first African-Americans to integrate county schools from 1964 through 1969.
Banister District Supervisor Robert Tucker says the Committee recognized the students who were part of the Freedom of Choice era and to remember their history. “They were able to go into the white schools and start the process of integration,” Tucker said. “It took courage on their part, it took courage on their parents’ part to be willing to send their children to these schools.”
The Committee worked with support from the County School Board, and in partnership primarily with the County Public Library System and the County Historical Society on the collaborative effort to curate and preserve the interviews and documentation collected about “Freedom of Choice” in the County; along with digital records, including audio and video recordings of alumni, which are stored and made available to researchers and the public.
“I salute and applaud not only the African-American students, but it took a lot of cooperation on the part of the white students as well,” Tucker said.
The committee held four ceremonies in February to unveil plaques at each County high school, listing the names of the black students who attended the predominantly-white schools during that era.
The Committee members are Elizabeth Mayo, Michael Brown, Pastor Reginald Carter, Glen Miller, Pastor Raymond Ramsey, Brenda Breedslove Carter, Margie Lanier Richardson, Henry Myers, Rhonda Griffin, Marian Shelton Keyes, Calvin Yarbrough, Elma Patrick Lane, Lisa Tuite and Gayle Hunt Breakley.