by Shawn Nowlin
Over the school’s 98-year history, Lucy Addison has gone through various chapters of ascendancy, tribulations and development.
Twenty-five years after being born to enslaved parents in 1861, Addison moved to Roanoke to teach. She is credited for creating the city’s first four-year high school for Black students, among other things.
Today, Principal Jonathon Rosser oversees approximately 530 middle school pupils at 1220 Fifth Street. Six decades ago, during the period in Virginia’s public schools where racial segregation existed, the brick building at 40 Douglas Avenue was the only school in Roanoke where African Americans could get an education.
Recently, the former location was recognized as one of nine new additions to the Virginia Landmarks Register. The other sites are in Frederick, Halifax, Louisa, Mecklenburg and Nelson counties, as well as the cities of Charlottesville, Newport News and Staunton. This fall, a highway marker is expected to be installed in front of the building.
For this milestone to happen, a combination of factors had to occur first.
“Built in 1928 and named for the pioneering Black educator Lucy Addison, the school represented a significant investment by city leaders in the education of local African American students and was touted as a standard-bearer in Virginia for its high school training programs for Black youth,” Ivy Tan, Department of Historic Resources, Marketing & Communications Manager, said.
Continuing, Tan added, “Following integration in Roanoke schools in 1971, the school building was used as the administrative offices for Roanoke City Public Schools until 2025.”
For decades, many Lucy Addison alumni have fought for their beloved school to obtain this type of recognition. Now that it’s here, it’s difficult for some to put what they are feeling into words.
“The fact that my grandparent’s generation could endure both overt and covert racism and still keep their eyes on the bigger prize leaves no excuses for my generation,” Nyla Anderson said. “I am beyond proud of the lineage that I come from.”
Starting next week, the building will be home to the school division’s “Community Empowerment Center at Booker T. Washington.”
According to the school webpage, “This will increase accessibility to essential services, promote community collaboration and empower families with knowledge and resources that will enrich their lives and the city. Renovating the building to maintain its structural integrity while preserving its history will ensure it can remain a source of civic pride for the next 100 years as it enters its next chapter.”
