Board proclaims Black History Month; historians, alumni and students highlight Douglass High School and preserved Willard stories
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Summary
The Board adopted a Black History Month proclamation and heard presentations on the 'Spatializing Black Stories' archive about Willard and an upcoming Douglass High School documentary; students and local groups described research, archival work, scholarships and planned events.
On Feb. 3 the Board of Supervisors proclaimed February 2026 as Black History Month in Loudoun County and convened several presenters who described projects preserving and sharing local African American histories.
Donna Bohannon (Friends of the Thomas Balch Library Black History Committee) introduced the 'Spatializing Black Stories' digital archive, a public-facing effort led with the George Mason University Center for Mason Legacies and student researchers to document the Willard community — a historically Black village displaced by Dulles Airport construction. Dr. Wendy Manuel Scott and student researchers described archival research, family histories and efforts to center community narratives on a publicly accessible website.
Charles Avery, president of the Loudoun Douglass Alumni Association, outlined LDAA initiatives: scholarships (the group has provided more than $300,000 since its founding in 1985), a Douglass High School room and a Feb. 21 Black History Month celebration at Douglass with programming and media coverage; he also noted collaboration with Visit Loudoun and parks and recreation.
Deputy Attorney General Travis Nemhard represented Attorney General Gerald 'Jay' Jones's office at the meeting and conveyed the office's support and interest in affordable housing, civil rights and consumer protections.
Speakers and supervisors emphasized the local importance of preserving Black history as American history and urged continued community engagement, archival work and educational programs.
How to learn more: presenters listed ldaa1941.org and related project sites and asked residents and media to amplify the archive and documentary work.