Samuel Wright, 1 of 3 Black students in the graduating class of 1967. His photo was defaced in a school yearbook.
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Fear, Trauma, and Exclusion
Fear, Trauma, and Exclusion
Despite the advantages of attending a school with more resources, many Black students from the Class of 1969 recall feelings of fear, trauma, and exclusion. Indeed, a number of students had difficulty remembering specific details as they blocked out the traumatic memories of their senior year.
The moment Black students entered the previously white-only James Blair High School, they were greeted by a mural that set the tone for racial relations. Mary Lassiter describes the mural and the message it sent to students each morning as they arrived to school.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Black students often felt excluded as they tried to find their place in school clubs and organizations. Cynthia Druitt describes feeling excluded on the Majorettes team and the great difficulty she experienced during her senior year at the integrated James Blair High School.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
As few Black students found positions on sports teams at James Blair, Rev. Dr. Ronald Ellis remembers facing threats of violence and feeling isolation and fear as one of the only Black players on the baseball team.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Mary (Bartlett) Ashlock also recalls feeling rejected by the white students. She remembers a Black community organization, Le Cercle Charmant, that gave her a scholarship, which inspired her to push forward despite the discouragement she felt at school.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Black students tried to join activities and traditions at the previously white-only James Blair High School, but often felt left out or pushed to the sidelines, as Mary Lassiter recalls in her experience with the Powder Puff girls’ football game.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Willis Potter describes the racial division on the football team, and the coach’s efforts to encourage integration.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
The culmination of these experiences created trauma for many students, as Mary Ashlock describes.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Willis Potter describes the tension he felt all the time at James Blair High School.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Troy D. Roots compares his fond memories of the all-Black Bruton Heights School and Berkeley High School during segregation and the experience of blocking out memories of James Blair High School.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Dale (Marsh) Jackson describes loving her high school years – until she arrived at the previously white-only James Blair High School.
Source: Maria (Tabb) Norman. November 9, 2021. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Maria (Tabb) Norman reflects on the conditions that made integration difficult.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Mary Ashlock felt that the white students had a negative influence on the Black students.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Willis Potter shares how the broader system kept white and Black kids apart.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Annette (Bonds) Washington reflects on her fear of attending the previously white-only James Blair and the treatment towards her and her friend group.
Source: Phyllis Crudup. August 2, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Teacher Phyllis Crudup also recalls not feeling welcome at extracurricular activities.
Source: Peggy Randall, February 19, 2021. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Peggy (Clemons) Randall recalls the conditions that forced Black students into a school where they felt unwanted.
A Comparative Lens: York High School
A Comparative Lens: York High School
James "Chuck" Brown, graduate of 1969, shares traumatic experiences as one of the Black students to integrate the previously white-only York High School in York County in the years before mandatory integration.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
James Brown recalls how white students and parents taunted and called him names during basketball games.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
James Brown remembers responding to white students' taunts and threats of violence.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
More Black students started to attend York High School, but James Brown recalls encountering hate as an everyday experience.
Banner image: Vandalism of a senior portrait of one of the three black students graduating from James Blair High School in 1966. Portraits of two of the three Black graduates were defaced.
Source: Heymann, Amelia. May 15, 2018. Berkeley High School’s last segregated class to celebrate 50-year reunion. The Virginia Gazette.
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