by S.Rotan Hale
A host of area dignitaries and various Lucy Addison High School alumni joined certain concerned citizens who gathered in a room filled with Lucy Addison High School memorabilia Friday, (Dec. 19) at the Community Empowerment Center (CEC) at the former Booker T. Washington school on Douglass Ave. to celebrate the unveiling of a new historical marker dedicated to local famed educator Lucy Addison.
Among those on program were Corey Allder; Franny Appel, chair, Roanoke City School Board; City Councilman Peter Volosin; Michael Pulice, Architectural Historian; Nelson Harris, Jordan Bell and Superintendent Dr. Verletta White.
“Today is all about honoring all of our alumni, educators, neighbors and friends as we continue to work together to empower our community with tools and resources so our city can grow and thrive because we know that when our families succeed, our students succeed,” said Corey Allder, Director of Community Engagement, RCPS. Allder spoke on what’s currently the facility that transitioned into CEC and also gave a brief history of Miss Lucy Addison’s legacy.
Lucy Addison was born December 8, 1861 in Fauquier County, VA. She was educated in Philadelphia at the Institute for Colored Youth, a private school from which she graduated in 1882.
Addison began teaching in Loudoun County, VA and moved to what was known as the First Ward Colored School in Roanoke in 1886. Throughout her path of matriculation she studied at Howard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Hampton University but dedicated her life to education in Roanoke.
As a prominent educator, Addison was principal of what was once Harrison School in northwest from 1918 until retiring in 1927. It was one of two schools established solely for African American students during segregation. She’s credited for expanding the schools curriculum beyond eighth grade resulting in its establishment as Roanoke’s first four-year high school for African-Americans and the largest of its type in Virginia led by a woman.
After retirement she moved to Washington, D.C. for a brief stay, only to return to the Roanoke school system in 1928. Shortly thereafter, with her present, Lucy Addison High School was named in her honor and opened April 19, 1929 to much fanfare.
Former mayor Rev. Nelson Harris, reportedly a major supporter of the Addison marker project opened his remarks by first paying respect to local educator extraordinaire, Doris Ennis who sat basking in the praise of her recognition.
“Mrs. Ennis has held almost every position in Roanoke City Public Schools over the years and if she ever wrote an autobiography it would be entitled “I’ve done it all,”’ quipped Harris.
Harris raised the notable fact that Addison’s marker was the 21st state highway marker erected in the city and of those 8 out of 10 were about Black history.
Continuing to emphasize the city’s efforts to highlight local hidden history Harris called the names of all the Black History markers dedicated to, namely: Burrell Memorial Hospital, Henrietta Lacks, Claytor Memorial Clinic, Edward Dudley III, Gainsboro Branch Library, Hunton Lifesaving Crew, Oscar Micheaux and Oliver Hill.
“This marker to Lucy Addison adds to that tremendous list of luminaries and organizations here in Roanoke that have made an impact not just locally but nationally,” said Harris.
Local African American historian and community advocate Jordan Bell brought a classic nostalgic reference to the mix by raising the name of Robbie Board, his great-grandmother and her childhood friend attorney Oliver Hill, both were Harrison School students under Miss Lucy Addison.
“My great-grandmother said that she and Miss Addison didn’t get along too well,” Bell said to the amusement of those in attendance.
In a most poignant fashion Bell went on to link the greatness in the paths of Lucy Addison and that of present superintendent Verletta White who sat visibly touched by Bell’s reference.“A few years ago, a woman, Veletta White, came to Roanoke and by virtue of her accomplishments here in this city, may not have known but she came in the essence of Miss Lucy Addison,” said Bell elevating the spirit of the moment.
RCPS Superintendent Dr. Verletta White put the final touches to this uplifting ceremony leading the audience through a call to promote what she appropriately refers to as “legacy work.”
“Let us not forget our past. We have to honor our past and those who paved the way before us and we have to teach our children to honor those who paved the way,” said Dr. White during remarks that bumped the celebration into high gear.
Dr. White, now in her sixth year as school superintendent, is known for her extremely conscientious and effective approach to managing the city’s school system. She came on hard first praising the attending Addisonians, teachers, students, etc. and continued through comments primarily rooted in her gratitude to the many who make the magic happen in the ongoing mission to educate the area’s children.
Praising the marker project itself she said, “It’s especially fitting that this marker is being dedicated here as this building has been a place of learning and leadership for nearly a century and named in honor of Lucy Addison and pioneering in its own right as the largest high school for Black students in Roanoke at the time. And don’t we hope that we can do something for kids that people will still talk about a hundred years from now. And that is what we’re trying to do,” said White perfectly sealing the program with promise and supreme reverence to the “legacy work” spearheaded by Miss Lucy Addison.
The celebration concluded as everyone walked down the hill to the corner of Burrell St. and Orange Ave. as the marker was unveiled on a sunny, blustery afternoon.
