Chickasha, Ok. Yeah, you probably never heard of it. If I wasn’t from there I probably wouldn’t either. I digress. Well, in this small town lies a historical landmark. One of its kind. The Verden Separate School. Now you’re wondering why this is a big deal? It’s a big deal because we all have the opportunity to be a part of preserving a piece of history.
Allen Toles was able to purchase land from the Homestead Act. How he was able to do that I don’t know but I’m always amazed when Blacks are able to push through against the odds. Okay, that was the wrong phrase. Let’s keep this real. To push through even though it could mean death via lynching. Yeah, what we fail to realize is it wasn’t just “we couldn’t do it because you’re black”, it was “don’t do it or you’ll be hanging from a tree”. So he purchased the land and built a school for black children. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Aren’t we still trying to save our children? Again, I digress. He dies and this white guy buys it and keeps the school running.
Back in the day. My grandmother stumbles upon it back in 2003. She bought it and had it moved to Chickasha. I remember that day. “Wow!” is all I can say. The news was there live to watch this school being transferred from one town to the next. For Chickasha, that was a big deal! I mean this school had survived almost 100 years and was still in tack. After it was moved, my grandmother, through grants and volunteers, had it restored and put it on the Historic Landmark registry.
Present day. So here we are almost 20 years later and of course with COVID that has slowed up progress. Also since then, we lost my grandpa and my great grandma, both whom were a huge support system. My grandmother has since then done storytelling events, celebrations, tours, etc. but she’s still very short of her goal.
With everything that has happened in the last year, now more than ever is it important that we preserve what we have. With gentrification happening across the country, historical landmarks are being destroyed left and right but yet there’s a discussion about Confederate statues!?!?. Please don’t get me started! Anywho. It’s time to do what we say we believe. If we care about our history, let’s support it! If you have or know a resource, please share!
Click on picture to donate. Till next time!!!
BlackTeachingMama2 