>>Roanoke City Public Schools to Honor Woman Who Established Roanoke's First Black High School
(Roanoke, VA) -- Roanoke City Public Schools is seeking a state historic marker to commemorate Lucy Addison, a pioneering educator who established Roanoke's first Black high school. Rebecca Hughes with more.Preview: Voicer Script:
Addison, born to enslaved parents in 1861, became the principal of Harrison School in 1917, the largest school in Virginia led by a woman at the time. The Cardinal News reports she advocated for accessible high school education for Black students in Roanoke, leading to the naming of Lucy Addison High School in 1928. The school district plans to open the Booker T. Washington Community Empowerment and Education Center in the old RCPS Central Office, where the proposed marker would be located. The city council unanimously approved the application for the marker.