POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. — A historic school building that once served Black students in Powhatan County during segregation is scheduled for demolition on Monday, despite objections from former students and some local officials.
The building, now called the Pocahontas Landmark Center, holds special memories for Sandra Morris Kemp, who attended the school for 10 years.
She said she had lots of friends, the teachers were friendly, and she learned a lot.
"That's where I honed my skill in sewing, and it helped me when I went to VCU, having good sewing skills," Morris Kemp said. "And we were taught nutrition, family literacy and home decorating.”
A historical marker outside the school notes that in 1937, the county built a school for African American students at a cost of $40,000.
The school was renamed Pocahontas Middle School in 1969 when the county desegregated its schools.
Kemp was the first African American student to graduate from the previously all-white high school.
She was the only Black student in her 12th-grade class, an experience she described as “isolating."
In fact, Kemp said no one spoke to her and that she disliked it very much.
In contrast, she loved her original school, which makes the upcoming demolition particularly painful for her.
"I do not want to see that school demolished," Kemp said.
In June, the school board voted 4-1 to approve about $830,000 to demolish the buildings.
School board spokesperson Laura McFarland told CBS 6 that the parts being torn down are currently vacant and deteriorated.
Michelle Ward, the lone school board member who voted against approving the money for the demolition, believes the buildings should be preserved.
"We should not tear down and destroy history. None of it. We should learn from our history so we can utilize this history, grow from it and continue to bring the people together and not constantly divide, and that's what I would like to see," Ward said.
McFarland stated that deterioration and health and safety concerns made demolition the most feasible option. However, Powhatan County Board of Supervisors Chair Bill Donati disagrees, saying the board found that two of the buildings could be refurbished after conducting a facility study with engineers.
"And that's kind of when we figured out that, hey, you know that we have some options here, which is why the county was looking to take ownership of that building," Donati said.
Susan Smith, one of the School Board members who voted for demolition, cited concerns that the Board of Supervisors wouldn't allow the School Board to use the buildings if control were transferred.
"At the end of the discussion, here was the answer: well, it's not enough space for both of us to get to use it, so we're going to use it, and you're out," Smith said.
With demolition just days away, Morris Kemp remains hopeful that this important piece of African American history in Powhatan will somehow be preserved.
"I think no historical building should be destroyed. That's just a no-no," Kemp said. "You can repurpose it and repair it. You do not have to demolish that school."
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