The Swag Images

Black education was hard fought and hard won.

There are countless stories of communities of hard working Black people giving donations from small wages; no wages, to help build schools, to provide transportation and other resources so their children could get an education.

This activism occurred not only on the Northern Neck, but in countless rural Black communities in the segregated United States of America. The struggles to have equal opportunities in the quality of education was not lost on people like Lancaster County citizens Issac Lewis, William Crosby, Simon Conquest, Albert Terry Wright, Rev. Daniel H. Chamberlayne, Dr. Morgan E. Norris, and so many, many, many more who organized, boycotted, and confronted the obstacles placed in the way of equal education for the Black community.

So it is especially pleasing to have the students of Lancaster Elementary School to participate with the Brookvale May Day event by providing art to be used in the branding of this event.

The Save Brookvale History Committee requested utilizing young artistic talents of Lancaster and Northumberland Counties art students to render images that would adorn t-shirts that was be used to promote the May Day 17, 2025 event, and to help generate funds.

The main focus of the art was the re-imagining of the spirits of the Black schools with their school colors and mascots alongside the present schools of Lancaster and Northumberland public schools that will be used on t-shirts, memory cards, and other gifts for people who donate funds towards the function of the May Day event and as an investment in the future for the site.

The students did not disappoint.

It is one thing to tell someone a vision but then to see how one vision manifests in the mind of a young person is truly amazing. Great care went into every one of these images. The imagination of the young artists is touching.

The other wonderful gift; the warm tone of curiosity was part of the palette. To draw inspiration for the project, yearbooks photos were shown to the students; many recognizing relatives. They asked questions that weren’t specific to art, but what stories were being told in the pictures…not only were the kids excited but the teachers were excited to answer questions from students.