Preserving formerly segregated SC school can benefit our state’s future

Before Conway moves ahead with plans to demolish the building that formerly housed the historically Black Whittemore Elementary School, we urge city officials and local leaders to explore all the options.

Are there private individuals or foundations that could help preserve and protect the site? Would a focused fundraising effort deliver the money needed to save it?

Granted, the cost is daunting.

Conway city administrator Adam Emrick said the cost of removing asbestos and restoring the school, which the city acquired in 2018, could be as high as $20 million.

Our reporter Mary Norkol noted, however, that the Whittemore Elementary School is “a cornerstone of Conway’s Black community, and was one of the area’s ‘equalization schools’ in the 1950s meant to create racially ‘separate but equal’ educations” before integration.

In many ways, it is much more than a building.

It is a symbol of what was and how far the community has come.

At a recent city meeting, residents, many wearing purple and gold shirts and masks, carried signs that read “save our school, save our heritage.”

Cheryl Moore Adamson, a local pastor trying to save the school she attended, said the city could save it if it was willing to commit to the project.

“All we’re talking about is the will to do,” Adamson said.

We hope city officials and local residents can find the will to, at the very least, exhaust every option before the first nail is removed.

South Carolina continues to struggle with its racial past, present and future.

Preserving sites like the Whittemore Elementary School can help heal wounds, teach valuable lessons and prevent history from repeating itself.

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Trudi Gilfillian is the South Carolina Opinion Editor.

This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 3:40 PM.