P. S. Jones African-American Education Museum

I researched the history of African-American education in Beaufort County, North Carolina, especially Washington, NC for development of a permanent exhibit for a new museum. P.S. Jones was a historically Black, segregated high school in Washington, North Carolina. Its alumni organization wanted to create a state-of-the-art museum about the history of African American education in the region. I conducted oral history interviews with several alumni of segregated Beaufort County schools as well as extensive research for the purposes of developing a narrative storyline and outline. I wrote nearly all exhibit text and was involved with content creation & editing through the exhibit’s completion. Design and installation by Design Dimension, Inc.

The exhibit traces the history of African American education in Beaufort County from slavery through integration with an emphasis on educational opportunities that became available after the Civil War, covering over a hundred years of history. The exhibit panels incorporate the voices of those who experienced the history wherever possible through the inclusion of quotes from WPA slave narrative interviews, oral history interviews I conducted with alumni, and other sources. The overall history of the development of African American education is captured in several timeline panels that highlight major developments at the local, state and national levels. Individual schools, leaders, and teachers are profiled throughout the exhibit and both rural and city schools are included. African American schools were at the center of Black communities during segregation. Integration, while its aim was to end unfair and unequal educational practices, was not fairly applied. Black schools and students had to give up school pride and identity and attend formerly all-white schools, losing their own heritage and community in the process.