Crispus Attucks, a sailor of mixed African and Indigenous ancestry, died in Boston on March 5, 1770 after British soldiers fired two musket balls into his chest.1 His death and that of four other men at the hands of the 29th Regiment became known as…
During the American Revolution African American men, both enslaved and free fought in the Continental Army. Black soldiers served in mostly integrated units at this time.
In 1959, Fairfax County Resident Leslie R. Coates was summoned to serve as a Grand Juror on the Special Grand Juror of Inquest in the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The jurors went to the courthouse cafeteria at lunch time. When Coates sat down to…
William McKinley Carter lived in Vienna and was a member of the NAACP, the Elks, and the Free and Accepted Masons. He was President of the Citizen Progressive Association of Vienna. He was one of the leaders of the Friends of the Vienna Library who…
Miss Nellie was a teacher and principal for thirty-two years for FCPS at the two room “Colored School.” In 1936, she created a study comparing county white schools to black schools. The study revealed that ninety percent of the county’s school budget…
James Robinson was well known, successful, and very respected in Fairfax County. At birth, he was freed and granted nine acres of land. The chapter describes the life of Gentleman Jim and the Robinson family. During the Civil War, the Robinson home…
As an enslaved man, Billy served as George Washington’s valet throughout the American Revolution and during the early months of Washington’s presidency.
West Ford was born a slave on the plantation in Westmoreland County owned by Bushrod Washington, George’s brother. After George Washington died, Bushrod moved to Mount Vernon, bringing West Ford with him. West Ford was guaranteed freedom at the age…
John Watson Mills, a Pamunkey Indian, walked from Aylett, Virginia to Fairfax County where he would settle, marry, and have a family. On their marriage certificate, John and his wife were both identified as Black.
John Jackson was born in Woodville, Virginia and moved to Fairfax County and became a grave digger. In the 1960s, his talent as a guitar player and Blues performer was discovered. He performed in Fairfax County and became famous locally, nationally,…
In 1922 Archer became teacher and principal for a one-room segregated school in Vienna. Devoted to her students, she worked to improve their learning experience. She organized a Parent Teacher Association to raise funds for supplies and a new…
Robinson was a principal at both segregated and integrated schools in Fairfax County Public Schools. He worked under four superintendents and once was accused of being too nice to his teachers.
Coates was a teacher and principal in segregated schools in Fairfax County. She encouraged her students to take vocational courses and pursue higher education.
Mr. Pulley was an educator and a principal. In administration he coordinated Human Relations and was President of the Fairfax County Teachers Association. He was a member of several community and religious organizations also.
Jennie Dean made secondary education possible for African Americans in Northern Virginia. Born enslaved in Loudoun County, Jennie Serepta Dean (April 15, 1848–May 3, 1913) became involved with education at about the age of 30 when she founded a…
Black American Temple Cheeks was born in Fauquier County. It is unknown whether he had been a slave. At the age of 36 and as a freed man, he enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, Co H, 22nd US Colored Infantry. He reported to the 7th Sub…
Mary Eliza Church Terrell (1863- 1954) was born to enslaved parents in Memphis, Tennessee. She received a BA and Master’s Degree from Oberlin College. In 1887, she moved to Washington, DC where she taught at the M Street Colored School in the Latin…
