Iron Hill School #112-C
The Iron Hill area was a community of African American farming and mining families. Constructed in 1923, Iron Hill School #112-C was one of over 80 schools built with funding from Pierre S. duPont, who sought to replace rundown public schools with modern facilities. Open from 1923-1964, the school was in session from September through […]
New London Avenue School
The first documented public school for African-American youth in the Newark community was established in 1867 by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. This was one of several schools established in Delaware during the post-Civil War “reconstruction” period through this federal government program, which was designed to assist African-Americans in former slave states. […]
Brown v. Board of Education
NC-138: Delaware remained a racially segregated society until the mid-twentieth century. Though the segregation of public schools was supported by the “separate but equal” doctrine that had been upheld by the nation’s highest court, the facilities and services provided for students were hardly equal. Seeking to address this situation, citizens in the communities of Claymont […]
Freedom Lost
By the late 1700s the institution of slavery was declining in Delaware and there was a dramatic growth in the state’s free black population. Demand for slave labor in the Deep South continued to grow and large numbers of free blacks were kidnapped and sent south via networks operated by criminal gangs. The Abolition Society […]
The Home of William Julius “Judy” Johnson
In 1975, William Julius “Judy” Johnson became the first Delawarean elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. During his career, 1921 through 1936, Johnson was considered the best third baseman in the Negro Leagues. In 1935, Johnson served as captain of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, a team that also featured Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, […]
Howard High School
Founded in 1867 by the Association for the Moral Improvement and Education of Colored People and named for Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard, the original school was located at 12th and Orange Streets.Pierre S. DuPont was the major benefactor for the new building, opened in 1928 on this site. With the annexation of the […]
