Leak Street Alumni curating history of their school

ROCKINGHAM — The Leak Street Alumni is seeking historical information, documents and artifacts relevant to Leak Street and Richmond County for a preservation project.

Odis Johnson, a board member of the Leak Street Alumni and a ‘58 graduate, shared that the board has authorized the creation of the Documentation and Preservation Project currently underway.

“The preservation of these documents and artifacts will ensure the legacy of the Rockingham Colored Elementary and High Schools, its teachers, students, and the Black community in Richmond County,” he shared. Johnson’s father served as a vocational teacher and was hired at the school in the early ’40s.

Items they’re searching for include photographs of the campus, personal photos of individuals that attended Leak Street School, old newspaper articles about the school, old report cards, old school board meeting minutes, school programs (graduations, plays), news articles regarding celebrations, sports, integration or weddings, copies of the school newspaper, the Clarion, or any stories regarding life experiences, community life of biographies of alumni.

Johnson said they hope to work with the Richmond County Historical Society, and he’s already talked to Dr. John Stevenson.

“We want to gather as much as we can,” Johnson said. “We will have to rely on historical documents and talking to the older people in the community.”

Before the 1860s, there was no formal education system in Richmond County for black children. A decade later, every county in North Carolina had free elementary schools, but primarily in urban centers. Many subscription schools, which were primitive, one-classroom buildings, existed in Richmond County.

According to notes compiled by Hazel Robinson, referencing the 1877 Richmond County school board minutes, it was recorded that there were 31 white schools and 25 black schools in Richmond County at the time.

The first public school for black children in Richmond County came into existence after 1890, near the intersection of highways #74 and #1 near the railroad. It was a one-room structure taught by Mr. James Stanback. Little is known about its origins, but the property is believed to be the same as the current Leak Street School.

In 1895, D.M. Jackson, was appointed to serve on a Richmond County Committee of Education, who is believed to be the first black member. In the early 1900s, many schools were remodeled through the Rosenwald Foundation, which were built to support educational opportunities for Southern blacks adversely affected by unfair racial policies. From 1911 to 1925, the Rockingham Normal and Industrial Training School, spearheaded by Rev. W.C. DeBerry, helped black students gain valuable skills.

By 1928, one in every five black schools in the South had been constructed using aid from the Rosenwald Foundation, including Leak Street.

“Realizing the fact that the only medium through which any race can achieve success is by its people ,we are inviting every community, school and church to be present in order that our goal might be successfully reached,” reads a flyer for an educational rally fundraiser for a school in Wadesboro in early 1928.

At the start of 1920, there were 72 schools in Richmond County; 50 of those had one teacher, and 14 had two teachers. 42 of the schools were for white children and the remaining 30 were for black children. Only two of the schools were brick, one each in Hoffman and Ellerbe.

Between 1920 to 1930, there was consolidation of many of these schools, although it would take until the ’60s for many of the blacks schools to be racially integrated. With assistance from FDR’s New Deal, the Richmond County School Board started a building program which gave priority to overcrowded and black schools. The main Leak Street building, consisting of four classrooms and an auditorium, was constructed using a Public Works Administrative Grant of $111,000.

J.C. Watkins wrote that when he assumed leadership of the school in the late ’50s, the faculty consisted of 12 elementary and 8 high school teachers. In 1958, they were able to purchase a bus so children outside of the city limits no longer had to walk to school, and the first band and choral clubs were added to the curriculum.

“Leak Street became Leak Street because of our hard working ancestors who knew the value of education and who jeopardized their own wellbeing to make sure that their children were exposed to learning that far exceeded any learning offered by the “system” at the time,” writes Robinson.

On February 8, 1965, the Richmond County Daily Journal reported that “six negro children enrolled at the previously all-white L.J. Bell and Rockingham High School this morning without incident,” following a petition submitted by attorney Julius Chambers representing 84 black school children in Richmond County. All six transferred from Leak Street. Their names were Mattie R. Diggs, Andrea Doria Belton, Vickie Tereasa Belton, Melvina Hines, John Henry Allred and Fred Allred.

“I was not afraid, but I was lonely,” writes Andrea in notes compiled by Robinson. “For this was the first time I had encountered white people other than when I saw them in stores. The police were there when we arrived, but I did not know why and that was the first time I remember my Mother going to school with us.”

Johnson said that, now, history can be so easily manipulated and confusing for young people, and this project can help serve to counteract that.

“My idea is to try and document this with as many personal stories before these people pass,” he said. “Every generation has a different take on what’s happened. Leak Street was the backbone of the black community and helped guide and develop many people.”

Johnson said his father’s guidance in brick masonry led him into a career of architecture. He knows that his path is echoed by many others, and it underscores the legacy and importance of Leak Street School.

“My father taught many black people a skill that they needed to use in life,” Johnson said. “For black people back in the ’50s, trade choices were very limited. Masonry, a skill, paid top dollar. My father taught hundreds of veterans and high school students trades that they used as a stepping stone.”

As of right now, there are about 15 members serving on the Leak Street Alumni who are helping steer this project.

Any who would like to contribute any items or information can contact Joyce Adams at 910-895-0941 or email jaadams9573@gmail.com. Someone will be at the Leak Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 3:00 p.m. to accept any items. Any personal items or photographs can be scanned and returned back.