Jones School and Ann Arbor’s vibrant Black Community will forever be remembered by a new historical marker behind Community High School. The new marker was unveiled earlier this month, as Jones School alumni were on hand to celebrate.
The Historical Marker project grew out of the 100th anniversary of the school and 50th anniversary of Community High School that was celebrated a couple of years ago. Jones School Alumnus Paul Harrison says it was courageous to really look into Ann Arbor’s segregated past. “We’re not responsible for the actions of the people that did that stuff back then,” Harrison said, “but we are responsible to look at the reality of how we got here and maybe try to do something about it.”
Superintendent Jazz Parks acknowledged this moment is long overdue to recognize an important part of AAPS and Ann Arbor community’s history. “To the students and families and staff of Jones School, this moment is for you,” Parks said. “It is to honor the legacy that has been unsung for far too long.”
Retired Community teacher Cindy Haidu-Banks gave a tribute to community activist Shirley Beckley, who had been committed over many years to not let the history of Black Ann Arbor be erased or forgotten. Beckley passed away earlier this year, but not before giving approval to the final mock-up of the memorial. “Shirley was a very good storyteller,” Haidu-Banks said. “It was important to her, as it is to many that history is told by the people who lived it, the good and the bad, from the past to the present, she did not sugar coat or mince words, she was opinionated. She shared stories with humor and mirth, the joy of community and a close neighborhood, and Shirley was also not afraid to speak uncomfortable truths, the hard parts of being Black in Ann Arbor.”
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