Over two days at the Charles County Fair, community members will discuss the history of school segregation and desegregation in the county through the eyes of students and educators who lived it. The McConchie One-room Schoolhouse at the fairgrounds will host more than 10 guest speakers Sept. 16 and 17. The presentation is part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Charles County Board of Education.
Friday, Sept. 16 the speakers are:
10:30 a.m. — Anna Kephart will present “A History of Segregation in Charles County Public Schools.”
11:30 a.m. — Cecelia Spinks will present “1952-1965: Segregation — The Early Years” and “1965-200: Integration Post High School.”
12:30 p.m. — Harold Watts will present “Mr. Watts, Pomonkey High School Band Director.”
2 p.m. — Margaret Marshall will present “My Story.”
3 p.m. — Russell Lee will present “Will You Believe?”
4 p.m. — Mary Louise Webb will present “The Way It Was.”
5:30 p.m. — Marlene Johnson will present “I Never Knew What Segregation Meant Until I Moved to Charles County.”
Saturday, Sept. 17 the speakers are:
10 a.m. — Dorothea and George Smith will present “Segregation in Charles County Public Schools Through the Eyes of a Former Student (1946-1958) and a Former Teacher (1965-1968).”
11 a.m. — Russell Lee will present “Would You Believe?”
11:30 a.m. — Conchita Walls will end the program with a presentation.
The presentations are part of a lecture series celebrating 100 years of the Board of Education. “Education: Then and Now” was held earlier this month at the historic Port Tobacco Courthouse where teachers taught a group of children based on lesson plans from 1916 and today.
“When Disasters Strike, We are Ready …” will be 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the James E. Richmond Science Center at St. Charles High School.
The fairgrounds are at 8440 Fairground Road in La Plata. The science center is at 5305 Piney Church Road in Waldorf.