African American History Month program set Feb. 1

The Delaware Public Archives in Dover will commemorate African American History Month with a special program led by Dr. Donald Blakey at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 1. The program is titled Building an Educational Future: Delaware State College and its Relationship with Delaware’s Comprehensive High Schools in the 1950s.

In 1953, Dr. Jerome H. Holland was hired as the new president of Delaware State College. Holland had three sources of student recruitment – out of state, Wilmington’s Howard High School and Delaware State College’s high school.

Coming to the rescue of the struggling college were many graduates of the newly formed county comprehensive high schools for African Americans and Native Americans. These schools were William C. Jason in Sussex County, William H. Henry in Kent County and Louis L. Redding in New Castle County. Their graduates provided a continuous and vital flow of students to sustain the important efforts Holland set in motion for Delaware State College.

The intent of this program is to interact with former students of the schools in order to explore and capture valued experience gained within their home institutions and Delaware State College. These recorded memories will provide a permanent record to be available to current and future scholars.

A native of Washington, D.C., Blakey has been an active member of the Dover-area community for many years. After graduating from Delaware State College in 1958, Blakey earned his master’s degree and eventually his doctorate. He served as a physical education instructor and a baseball coach at Delaware State College before joining the Caesar Rodney School District as assistant principal at the high school and district director of pupil transportation. An aviation enthusiast, Blakey was an FAA-certified commercial, instrument, multi-engine rated pilot who flew with Dover Air Trans Inc. For more than 25 years, Blakey served his community as a member of Kent County Levy Court and the Delaware House of Representatives. He currently works as director and principal writer for DonDel Theater Co. in Dover.

The program is free to the public and will last approximately one hour. No reservations are required.