"You were expected to do well. Every day." -Michael Johnson (b. 1947), 2024

, If you were a Black elementary school student in Montgomery County before 1950, you likely attended a one or two-room school near your neighborhood. These schools were smaller and had fewer resources than whites-only schools. In 1950, after years of advocacy from Black residents, the county opened a school meant to be "equal." That school was the brick building next to the park. Fourth-grader Shirley Duvall won the naming contest with "Longview," inspired by the scenic country view and the long bus trip many students endured., Ms. Edith Throckmorton, an experienced educator and local civil rights leader, led a professional staff from Emory Grove and nearby Black communities. Students knew if they misbehaved, their parents would surely hear about it at church on Sunday. Most importantly, the children felt supported and were expected to excel., This loving atmosphere mirrored the community. Adults were nurturing and stressed the value of education as a gateway to success. Children saw college graduates, business owners, military servicemembers, and many skilled in their trades. Though Longview Elementary closed in 1961, and the close-knit classroom environment faded with integration, its legacy of high expectations remains., [Captions:] , The professional faculty included (front row) Principal Ms. Edith Throckmorton (fifth from left), and Ms. Snowden (first from left), Ms. Louise Davis (second from left), Ms. Mabel Jackson (fourth from left), Ms. Edith Gordon (sixth from left), Ms. Ceola Perry (eighth from left) and back row) Ms. Budd (first from left), and Ms. Ethel Jones (fifth from left), Bernadine Davis Frazier attended Emory Grove's two-room school, which opened in 1927. Edward U. Taylor went to its predecessor, built in the early 1880s, where the recreation center stands today. A Howard University graduate, he supervised the county's Black schools from 1923 until his death in 1951. He is buried in the cemetery behind Johnson's Park., Longview classroom, ca. mid-1950s. From left, by row, front to back: Mary Alice Bowie, Ermatine Franklin, Richard Shelby, Jennifer Jackson; Bladys Barcys, unidentified, Betty Jane Bennett, Ethel Mae Taylor, Mary Jane Lyles; Connie Copeland, Alice May Prather, Shirley Hungerford, Ricahrd Tyler, Helen Ziggler, unidentified, Lawrence Smith,; Larue Stevenson, unidentified, Joann Prather; Margie Bowie, Barbara Ann Taylor, Stanley Prather, William Campbell, Jr., Rosale Prather, Virginia Gray, Ernest Neal; Olivia Lynn, Charles Hackey, Joan Frazier, Harold Beckwith; Barbara Mae Taylor, Harry Moore, Ms. Edith Throckmorton; Early Jackson, unidentified,