For Black History Month this year, current members of the Mary Williams Community Senior Center in Charlottesville shared their memories of attending segregated Jackson P. Burley High School on Rose Hill Drive. Jackson P. Burley was an educator and prominent African American Businessman who sold 17 acres he owned on Rose Hill Drive for the construction of the school, which opened in 1951 and graduated its last class of seniors in 1967, eight years after school integration began in Charlottesville. Later, the school became Jackson P. Burley Middle School, which serves students from Albemarle County. Center members recalled the amazing Burley Band, which was always the highlight of local parades, and their famed football team, the “Burley Bears.” The 1956 Burley Bears were memorialized in a documentary by local filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson called “Color Line of Scrimmage.” Not only did the team go undefeated that year, but none of their opponents scored against them, and their home games were more popular than UVA football games. They also highlighted the Monument Wall that was placed in front of the school and dedicated in 2018 to honor that history.

Members are also excited to read the new book that was just published, “Unforgettable Jackson P. Burley High School” by author Lucille Smith, which the Daily Progress called "the most comprehensive record of Burley’s history written to date."

“Black history matters,” Smith told the Progress. “The students are now senior citizens and many are no longer with us. Going forward, we can preserve, honor and never forget the past we document to secure the future because this is a brave and powerful story of African American students in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.”