Worsham School History
In 1959 the nation watched as Prince Edward County closed the doors of its public school system rather than integrate after the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. As a result, for four years the children of Prince Edward County were denied access to public education. The majority of white students attended private academies created for them; however, African-American children were left without access to any formal education. The Worsham School was a part of the solution.
The Worsham School initially opened in 1927 as an all-white public school. But in 1963, the school opened its doors as part of President Kennedy's effort to educate Prince Edward County's African-American children while the public schools were closed. The Worsham School was one of four County schools leased by the Prince Edward Free School system, a privately organized but federally supported organization whose purpose was to provide free schooling for the African-American students of Prince Edward County. As President John F. Kennedy announced in the summer of 1963 before the schools opened, "There are only four places in the world where children are denied the right to attend school: North Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, and Prince Edward County. Something has got to be done about Prince Edward County." The Free Schools operated for one year, until the Prince Edward County Public School system, in response to a court order, re-opened in 1964 to all children regardless of race.
