Located off of Route 9 on Buttonwood Avenue in New Castle, the Buttonwood Colored School first opened in 1919 during the nation’s period of segregation to serve the needs of “colored” students growing up in the historically Black suburban neighborhood. The neighborhood got its name from the adjacent estate, Buttonwood Plantation, built by James Booth, Sr. in the early 1800s. Booth, a prominent statesman, and judge, played a critical role in the abolition of slavery. The first teacher at the school was James Coulborne. In 1926 a new one-room schoolhouse was built for students in grades 1-8 on land obtained from the Lukens Steel Company. Funding for construction was provided by P.S. DuPont and the Delaware School Auxiliary Association. Sylvester Woolford became the second instructor for all of the students in 1934. He was dearly loved by his students and made certain they got the best education possible under the circumstances. An additional classroom was added in 1938. When integration began in 1955, the school closed in 1957. It has since been refurbished and is now open as a public museum and community center. Learn more at https://www.buttonwoodschool.org/ #BlackHistoryMonth2021 #EquityCSD #powerofwecsd
Interracial Marriage in the United states
Valentine’s Day is all about love but did you know interracial marriages were once illegal and the 2016 movie “Loving” was based on a true story? During the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the growing number of interracial marriages (also known as...
WE Celebrate: Delaware’s First Black Attorney
In 1929, Louis L. Redding became the first Black lawyer in Delaware. He was a respected civil rights pioneer for Delaware and America. In 1950, Redding compiled a case against the University of Delaware, which barred Black students. But the university's chancellor,...
We Celebrate: Peter Spencer
(1782–1843) Spencer was an American freedman who in 1813 founded the Union Church of Africans in Wilmington, Delaware. The denomination is now known as the African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, or A.U.M.P. Church for short. Born into...