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The Gibson Story
From Segregation to Legacy: The Story of a School That Shaped a Community
The history of Susie G. Gibson High School is a testament to the strength, vision, and perseverance of Bedford’s African American community. From its roots as the Bedford Training School to its transformation into today’s Science and Technology Center, the school’s journey reflects a powerful legacy of education, equity, and pride.
“Roots of Resilience:
The Bedford Training School Era”
Long before the construction of Susie G. Gibson High School, the fight for educational equity for Black students in Bedford County had already begun. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Black education in Virginia emerged through makeshift institutions like the Freedmen’s Bureau’s Varner School and later one- and two-room schoolhouses that offered only rudimentary instruction. By 1923, African American community leaders in Bedford reorganized to demand more. They transformed the old Piedmont Institute into the Bedford County Training School for Negroes, the first and only institution in the county to provide secondary education for Black students.
Though labeled a "training school," it served as a critical site for Black academic and industrial education. Students came from over 25 communities and 28 elementary schools, traveling long distances despite under-resourced classrooms, lack of facilities like auditoriums or cafeterias, and disproportionate school funding. The school operated under a dual system that offered a limited academic curriculum combined with vocational training in agriculture, home economics, and teaching. Funding and support came not just from the county, but from the Literary Fund, community fundraising, and the Rosenwald Foundation. These efforts signaled not just survival but resilience and aspiration, a declaration of dignity and determination in the face of systemic inequality.
“A School Named for Greatness: The Legacy of Susie G. Gibson”
In response to growing calls for equal educational facilities and increasing NAACP pressure to expose the fallacy of "separate but equal," Bedford County committed in 1950 to building a new high school for Black students. The chosen name, Susie G. Gibson High School, honored an extraordinary educator and Jeanes Supervisor who had worked tirelessly to improve the county's Black schools.
Designed by prominent Virginia architect Stanhope S. Johnson, the school opened in 1954. It served as a modern symbol of progress, situated on a scenic hill in Bedford with breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its International Style architecture included sprawling low-profile structures with brick veneer, long horizontal bands of metal-framed windows, recessed entrances, and clearly zoned areas for academics, athletics, and vocational training. Inside, the layout followed a modern double-corridor plan and included classrooms, science labs, a cafeteria, a library, a gymnasium, and locker rooms. In 1966, an auditorium and additional classrooms were added, designed by J. Henley Walker, Jr., reinforcing the school’s growing role as an educational and cultural hub for the community.
Under the leadership of Principal John I. Jones, the school served more than 300 students at its peak. It offered both academic and vocational tracks, with electives ranging from agriculture and business to French and music. Students engaged in sports, journalism, performing arts, and service clubs. The school became a site of identity, culture, and pride for Bedford’s Black families, symbolizing both progress made and struggles still to come.
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“Change, Closure, and Courage: The Fight for Integration”
While the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision signaled a legal end to segregated schooling, Bedford County, like much of Virginia, resisted integration for over a decade. Instead, it participated in the state's Massive Resistance movement and adopted the Freedom of Choice plan in the mid-1960s. Under this policy, only a handful of Black students from Susie G. Gibson chose to attend white schools, facing enormous social and academic pressure for doing so.
In the face of legal and federal funding pressure, Bedford County finally integrated its schools fully in 1970. That year, Susie G. Gibson High School was closed, and its students were absorbed into formerly all-white schools. This transition marked a painful but pivotal turning point. The closure marked the end of the school’s chapter as a Black educational institution, but it did not erase its legacy. The building was repurposed as the Bedford Educational Center, later renamed the Bedford Science and Technology Center, continuing to serve as an educational site in a new capacity.
“Full Circle: The Susie G. Gibson Science and Technology Center Today”
In a powerful act of restoration and recognition, the building was renamed the Susie G. Gibson Science and Technology Center in 2020. This marked a symbolic return to its historical roots and honored the woman whose vision and advocacy helped make it possible. A new Virginia Historic Marker now stands at the entrance, affirming the building’s significance in the history of African American education and civil rights.
Today, the center offers a wide range of career and technical education programs, continuing its tradition of preparing students for life beyond the classroom. While the school now serves a diverse student body, the echoes of its past remain. Original architectural elements such as its modernist structure, auditorium, and even lockers still speak to its legacy.
Through the work of Susie G. Gibson Legacy Inc., this landmark continues to serve as a space for storytelling, remembrance, and inspiration. Oral histories, community gatherings, and documentary efforts ensure that the school's role in the fight for educational equity is never forgotten. The story of Susie G. Gibson High School is not just one of buildings and dates, it is the story of people, perseverance, and a community’s belief in the transformative power of education.
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