This spring, Peerless Rockville celebrates the fight for educational equality in Rockville with a multi-part series. Join us as we highlight the efforts of the local African-American community to secure quality educational opportunities for their children after emancipation, through the challenges of separate and unequal segregated schools, and the experiences of desegregation following Brown vs. Board. Through an exhibit, illustrated presentations, and panels of those who lived it, Peerless Rockville explores the local effort to achieve educational equality.
This free series will highlight five periods of significance on the path to integrated schools, culminating in a panel discussion where local alumni will discuss their experiences during desegregation. All events will be free and open to the public.
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The schedule for the upcoming series:
The Experience of Emancipation in Maryland
Friday, February 24, 7 pm
Rockville Memorial Library
February 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of a petition from 20 Rockville men pledging to fund a school and teacher to educate black children in 1867. Learn about these brave men and early efforts in black education with an exhibit and reception at our series kick-off at Rockville Memorial Library.
The 1867 petition occurred only a few years after emancipation under the new State Constitution of 1864 that freed slaves throughout Maryland. What did emancipation actually mean for the newly freed slaves? Morgan State University Professor David Taft Terry, Ph.D, will explain the changes, challenges, and opportunities emancipation brought to daily life in Maryland.
Link to free Eventbrite registration. Please let us know you’re coming!
The Rise of Separate but Unequal Schools
Saturday, March 11, 1 pm
Jerusalem-Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church
Exactly 150 years ago, a group of African-American men – some recently freed- petitioned for a school in Rockville. Segregated schools established by the state came next – separate but hardly equal. Later, Rosenwald schools supported a county high school for blacks in Rockville, years after schools for white children. Learn about the history of the Jerusalem-Mt. Pleasant church in advancing education. Featuring Montgomery History Speakers Bureau Ralph Buglass and Rev. Jane Wood
Link to free Eventbrite registration. Please let us know you’re coming!
Thurgood Marshall and William Gibbs: Civil Rights in Rockville
Saturday, April 1, 10 am
Red Brick Courthouse
In 1937, renowned Civil Rights attorney and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall represented William Gibbs, a Rockville principal suing for equal pay for black teachers. Honorable Patrick L. Woodward will discuss the case and Professor Larry S. Gibson will explain how this local civil rights hero helped set the stage for Marshall’s further legal work against discrimination. Featuring Larry Gibson, University of Maryland Law Professor and Historian and Honorable Patrick L. Woodward, Maryland Court of Special Appeals Judge.
Link to free Eventbrite registration. Please let us know you’re coming!
Remembering the Carver Years
Friday, April 21, 6:30 pm
Carver Educational Services Building Auditorium
Learn about the achievement of Carver High School as the only high school for black students in Montgomery County and the experiences of alumni and staff.
Eventbrite registration coming soon!
Panel Discussion: Stories of School Desegregation
Tuesday, May 2, 7 pm.
Rockville City Hall Mayor and Council Chambers
Our county was the first to desegregate, following the City of Baltimore. Hear the stories of those who lived it as teachers and students. Featuring Connie Morella as panel moderator.
Eventbrite registration coming soon!
