Near Amherst in Amherst County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Central High School
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 14, 2021
1. Central High School Marker
Inscription.
Central High School. . Amherst County opened Central High School here in 1956 to serve African American students. The school, established at the same time as the all-white Amherst County High School, was built in an effort to create "separate but equal" facilities despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregated public schools were "inherently unequal" and thus unconstitutional. Central, the county's first school to offer 12th grade to African Americans, replaced the Madison Heights Negro School and the Amherst County Training School. After the county desegregated its schools under a federal court order in 1970, Central High became a junior high school.
Amherst County opened Central High School here in 1956 to serve African American students. The school, established at the same time as the all-white Amherst County High School, was built in an effort to create "separate but equal" facilities despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregated public schools were "inherently unequal" and thus unconstitutional. Central, the county's first school to offer 12th grade to African Americans, replaced the Madison Heights Negro School and the Amherst County Training School. After the county desegregated its schools under a federal court order in 1970, Central High became a junior high school.
Erected 2019 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number R-26.)
Location. 37° 34.226′ N, 79° 1.943′ W. Marker is near Amherst, Virginia, in Amherst County. Marker is on Gordons Fairgrounds Road (Virginia Route 777) 0.1 miles south of Richmond Highway (U.S. 60), on the left when
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traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 165 Gordons Fairgrounds Rd, Amherst VA 24521, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 14, 2021
2. Central High School Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on August 15, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 15, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 310 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 15, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
