The Lancaster Virginia Historical Society, in partnership with Holley Graded School, Inc., in Northumberland County, will host a two-part virtual program, “Black Voices: Memories of Holley Graded School,” on Feb. 22 and 27 via Zoom.The first session, “Holley Graded School Memories, 1922-1959,” will take place at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
This presentation will focus on Black educational experiences at Holley Graded School in the early-to-mid-1900s, as told through audio clips, transcriptions, and research from the society’s Closing the Gap Lower Northern Neck African American Oral History Collection.
“We will feature short segments from interviews conducted in 2002 with twelve former Holley students who reminisce about their elementary school days and give insights into some of the challenges and successes of segregated education,” LVHS president Frank Kober said.
The program will include excerpts from Ruth Lorraine Dobyns Blackwell, Ilva Thompson Connor, Eleanor Dobyns Holden, Marga...