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George
Washington Carver High School
and
Junior College
February
2000
George Washington Carver High School and Junior College was the
only modern secondary educational facility constructed for black
students in Montgomery County. When the school opened in September
1951, it also became the first, last, and only institution for
post-secondary Negro education in the County.
The location of Carver, just northeast of the historic black
community of Haiti, was appropriate for a racially segregated school
system which foresaw no change in the "separate but equal"
philosophy. Carver was the first County public school to be named
for a black individual, a matter of great pride to the community.
The name was selected by the student body of Lincoln High School in
a school-wide contest.
The construction of Carver marked the culmination of decades of
persistence by the Negro community on behalf of their children for a
facility on par with those for white students. Carver's curriculum
provided students with the skills, education, and opportunities
previously unavailable. As the only County institution for hundreds
of Negro secondary and post-secondary students, Carver played a
vital role in forging lasting social and professional bonds. From
all over Montgomery County buses collected black students, many of
whom had to spend three or four travel hours each day.
To Montgomery County black citizens and the school's alumni, Carver
High School is a symbol of the coming of age educationally,
socially, and politically of Montgomery County's Negro community. It
identifies the end of an era of substandard facilities for Negro
students.
After desegregation, Carver high school students were transferred to
formerly all-white schools throughout the County. Carver Junior
College merged with Montgomery Junior College, although black
students continued to only attend classes at Carver for many years.
When the Board of Education took over the facility in 1961 for use
as its administrative headquarters, the name George Washington
Carver was abandoned. However, Carver-Lincoln alumni, supported by
the NAACP and black churches, succeeded in persuading the Board to
reinstate the original name.
Although there have been numerous additions to the building, the
first occurring immediately after construction, the main east facade
appears much as it did when the facility opened in 1951. The
structure evinces elements of the International Style in its
horizontality, simple streamlined design, flat roofs, and ribbons of
steel casement windows. The school shares a campus with Rock
Terrace, formerly an elementary school for black students.
Now home to the administrative offices for the Montgomery County
Board of Education, Carver has continued in educational use for
nearly fifty years. The Lincoln Park Civic Association and Peerless
Rockville have nominated the Carver campus for designation as a
Rockville Historic District. Carver is scheduled for review by the
Rockville Historic District Commission at its February 15 and March
21, 2000 meetings.
Our thanks to Bessie Corbin, former teacher at Carver and
current president of the Lincoln Park Civic Association, for sharing
her first-hand experiences at Carver.
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