Students who attended or graduated from the Liberty County Training School, built in 1928, along with one of their teachers, Neloweze Cooper, reminisced about their educational experiences at the school on two recent Saturdays at Historic Dorchester Academy.
They viewed a video and perused displays that consisted of photographs from a variety of sources, but most notably from an album and collection of Mr. Alexander Gardner. He captured the school’s character in the photographs that he took as a student in the 1940s and ’50s.
Adelphenia Jackson-Brown read a poem written by a 1948 graduate, Cleveland Stripling, that described the experiences and relayed through words some historic images and facts about the school.
Additionally, local high school students Mary Wilson, Lee­Alice Brown and DeMarcus Morris recited poems that the teachers taught to the students during the school’s era.
Samuel Wilson and Sandra Hicks Sheffield rendered musical selections that included jazz, blues and spirituals that also reflected the era’s influence. Cameron Morrison creatively introduced each participant through his rhythmic drumbeats.
During the performances, LCT’s students, teacher and all in attendance feasted on vegetable soup, cornbread and other foods that made up the historical memory of the school.
These activities served as a means for the students and teachers of LCT to keep alive the historical significance of the school. They also allowed Jackson-Brown, who researched this facility, to show appreciation to them for sharing their thoughts, memorabilia and experiences about their educational experiences at LCT. Finally, the events revealed how the school served as a historical entity in the history of education for African Americans in the county during those bygone years.