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Breaking down boundaries
As chairman of the Fauquier County School Board, Duke Bland is knowledgeable and involved when it comes to the two new schools currently under construction, set to open in the fall.His experience with new schools is even more encompassing.
“I grew up going to a two-room, all black school,” where students had to pump their own water, the Fauquier native said of his early education in The Plains, adding that the building had no indoor plumbing and was heated by coal and oil stoves. Without benefit of custodians, students even had to clean the floors, he said. “You just can't imagined what we had to do at school to make it work.”
By the time Bland was ready for the fifth grade, a new school was also ready for black children in the county.
“I was one of the first students to walk through the doors of that brand-new school,” he said, still passionate to this day about Claude Thompson Elementary School. “You can imagine how we felt going to this new school ? water fountains inside, bathrooms inside, everything spic and span, well laid out.
“The teachers who taught at that school were so very proud of the school and the students. They made sure we appreciated that school. The students didn't deface that school. There were no marks on the floors or the walls. You took extra care not to demean that school in any shape, fashion or form,” Bland recalled.
“Every student of my generation that went through that school was and still is very proud of it. It was a symbol to us ? it was a means of going beyond a particular boundary where blacks had the old schools. Now we were moving beyond that into our new school.”
Boundaries have played an important role in Bland's life. He talked about the racial boundaries that most black students faced as he grew up.
“Culturally, there were boundaries, whether they were real, imagined, or self-imposed,” he said.
“It takes a while to work through [those boundaries] but you grow through that period. Many of us grew to appreciate the understanding of 'where we were' versus 'where we are.' When integration of schools was discussed and became a reality, I was faced, along with others, with a decision. The first year, we had a choice of attending the traditional all-black Taylor High School or the newly integrated Fauquier High School. This would have been a first for us to go to an all-integrated school.
“Some of my greatest mentors were teachers at [Claude Thompson Elementary]. They were all great hands-on teachers. They knew the obstacles and challenges we were liable to face in life, and they prepared us to the best of their ability. My teachers at the time, Fred Essex and Claude Thompson, were part of the decision-making process. Essex said, 'This should not be a decision you have to sit down and think about. You are ready. You can compete with any student there.' It made us feel good.”
Bland's parents, however, were not as comfortable with his decision to go to the integrated school. Concerned for their son, 'Why do you want to go to Fauquier High? Do you know what you will be up against?' Bland recalled them asking. But, his grandmother was the one most adamantly opposed. Bland now sees that she also had an “imaginary boundary.” She told him in no uncertain terms, “You don't need to be going to that school.”
But Bland decided to go to Fauquier High School because of the challenge. “I thought I was ready to compete with anybody and everybody,” he said recently.
For the first few days, he sat in his classes and listened. “I began to think, I know just as much, if not more than any of these kids in here,” he said. Once he removed his imaginary boundaries, his confidence level rose. He became a track stand-out and broke many high school sports records.
While he and other black athletes competed in sports, the cheerleaders were all white. “There were a number of us that took exception with that,” he said. “We wanted to be sure that cheerleader tryouts were fair and equitable. We wanted to be sure that the black girls were afforded the same opportunities as the white girls trying out.”
To exhibit their disapproval, many students engaged in a “sit-in.” Bland said, “We sat down until [the school] heard our concerns and promised to make tryouts fair. That was a real boundary” since black girls felt that there was no use trying out because they would not be accepted anyway.
“Once people began to move beyond boundaries,” Bland said, “that's when folks really recognized and appreciated what contributions have been made [by black Americans].”
Those contributions were first widely noted when black history was celebrated in the United States in 1926 as Negro History Week, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The son of slaves, Woodson spent his childhood working in Kentucky coal mines. He went to high school at the age of 20 and graduated in two years. He later earned a doctorate from Harvard. Concerned about the lack of documented black history, Woodson initiated the annual celebration to be observed in February.
“I was probably in my late teens or early 20s when it really struck me how significant Black History Month was,” Bland recalled. “The question was 'Who is going to honor it? How are they going to honor it.?' When you begin to see all of the celebrations, all of the local and national celebrations, you begin to think, 'Wow, that's great...It's really happening!”
He remembered that, “We [celebrated] in elementary school, but I thought at that time, it was something that we did as a school, as a unit, as a class. We had posters, drew pictures, but I didn't know it was much more than a local school celebration.”
Bland now sees the celebration as having a much bigger impact. “I hope [Black History Month] means recognizing the many positive contributions that blacks have made to the success of this country. Until you look at the history of the number of prominent black inventors and think about some of the inventions that were created, it is very surprising the number of contributions that those black people made to this country.”
He sees celebrating Black History Month as important from two perspectives. Firstly, he noted that it is important for blacks, and, in fact, all Americans to be “conscience, aware and fully appreciate the contributions that African Americans have made.
“It is a matter of honoring those who crossed those boundaries and opened the door to opportunities,” he said.
The second opportunity offered by Black History Month is, well, opportunity.
“Every student needs to be prepared for opportunities. They need to be in position that when opportunity comes knocking, they are certainly ready to seize that moment,” he said.
He stressed that, first of all, students need to be studious. But they also need to be involved in school and extra-curricular activities to be well-rounded. However, he believes that students need to take it a step further, “Students need to be part of the community, when and where they can. They need to be part of any decision-making process. They need to be coming to school board meetings, board of supervisor meetings, budget hearings...any thing that could involve them,” Bland said.
Bland sees that some of the most important ways to achieve success is to seek out mentors and to network. “You need to be involved in these activities for networking purposes,” he said. “You never know where it leads you...when you are involved in the community and when you give back to the community, there is a reward, whether it is immediate or a future award, yet to be collected.”
As school board chairman, Bland sees the need for the school system to do a better job of preparing students for life in a global society after graduation. “We have to prepare our kids to compete internationally and appreciate our international friends,” he said.
Showing appreciation is something he was introduced to in his early years.
“I come from a strong family. Because of boundaries, you grew up relying on and believing in and putting your faith in your immediate family and close associates of the family. There was that cohesiveness ? everyone looked out for each other.
“We helped each other, no matter what. Those are the things I try to instill in my kids today,” he said.
Bland and his wife Renita have three sons. Jeremy, 21, is a junior at Virginia Tech; Eric, 26, is a graphic communications artist in Charlottesville, and Raymond, 30, works for Verizon and lives in New Baltimore. The Blands also have a granddaughter, Camryn, who is four.
Having been married for Renita for 35 years, Bland offers this advice: “You can't take your spouse for granted, and you can't take your family for granted.”
To strengthen the family ties, the Blands use tradition.
“It brings families together. Tradition is almost like a keepsake. You carry it for the rest of your life. You carry it to your grave. It's keeping those who have gone before us alive in our heart, body, mind, soul and spirit,” he said.
“It's like the African village storyteller who knows everybody in the village. He tells the story...in his mind, the spirit doesn't die.”
Perhaps, that's the best reason of all for celebrating Black History Month ? it keeps the story, and the spirit, alive.
E-mail the reporter: mailto:afelts@timespapers.com..
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