The Kelly Miller
'colored' School served as part of the West Virginia segregated school
system from 1902 until 1957. The institution of a segregated society
was created through the United States Supreme Court decision, Plessy v.
Ferguson (1896), upholding the various local 'separate but equal' laws.
In West Virginia, this meant a dual school system separating the races.
The Kelly Miller 'colored' School served not only Harrison, but also
Taylor, Lewis, Doddridge, Upshur and Barbour Counties since their black
population was not large enough to justify a separate school. Those
students from other counties were bussed to Clarksburg on Monday
mornings, boarded at their counties expense during the week in
Clarksburg, and returned by bus to their homes on Friday evening. The
Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) struck down
the segregated system as being inherently unequal. The United States
Supreme Court ordered integration of public schools. In early 1955, the
Harrison County board of Education proposed an integration plan, which
included the closing of Kelly Miller as a school and reopening it as
the offices for the Board of Education and the integration of all black
students into the 'white' school system. The black community had hoped
that the Kelly Miller School would become a grade school serving the
community around Water Street, Ben Street and Monticello Avenue. But it
was decided by the black community that the greater victory of
integration was worth the loss of the school. Thus, the black community
supported the integration plan and the Harrison County schools were
integrated beginning with the 1955-1956 school year.
A visit changes a name...
The school was named in honor of Kelly Miller, the Howard University
Dean of the college of Arts and Sciences, who traveled to Clarksburg to
discuss education as a way to improve the lot of the black race. The
black community of Clarksburg decided to change the name of the school
that same year, 1920, from Water Street 'colored' School to Kelly
Miller 'colored' School.
Striving for Education
The significant person who was a part of the Kelly Miller 'colored' School was its principal from 1919 until 1957, Dr. Emmett B. Saunders. You may read more about Dr. Saundershere .
Kelly Miller School as a focal point for Clarksburgs Black Community
The Kelly Miller building was designed by Silas Dawson, a Clarksburg
architect, in 1900. It is an outstanding local example of Dawsons work,
which ranged from the late 1890's until the early 1920's. The builder,
Charles D. Ogden, was a Harrison County resident. He completed the
building in 1902.
Like many black schools throughout the state, Kelly Miller existed not
just for the students. Prior to the integration, the school was a focal
point of the Clarksburg black community. It served as a rallying point,
a social center and an insitution with which the black community could
identify.
