Ashburn Colored School
On this site stands Ashburn Colored School, a one-room public schoolhouse built ca. 1892 for African American students. Virginia's public school system, established in 1870, was racially segregated from its inception. Schools for black children recieved less funding and offered fewer educational opportunities than those for whites. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregated schools were unconstitutional, but Virginia's government resisted integration. This school closed in 1958, when its students were transferred to a new segregated school in Leesburg. Loudoun County schools were fully desegregated in the 1968-1969 school year.
While not mentioned on the plaque, this school received brief international notoriety after some teenagers who spray-painted it with racist graffitti were assigned a reading list about racism in lieu of harsher punishment. It has since been repaired and repainted.
Submitted by: Matthew Wootten