The Journey from Shirley Bulah to Rudy Bridges

The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ) hosted Delaware historian and lecturer  Sylvester Woolford at the October Town Hall Meeting. 

Woolford’s presentation “The Journey from Shirley Bulah to Rudy Bridges” traced the history of the “colored schools” that Pierre DuPont built when the state of Delaware did not provide education for black children.  Between 1920 and 1930 DuPont built 85 schools, called the “Great Experiment,” intending to shrink the education gap between blacks and whites. The program explained the planning process for building these schools, the experience of the students who attended the schools, and the process of closing the schools after Brown vs. the Board of Education. 

As a native Delawarean, currently living in Newark, Woolford has been involved in the restoration and preservation of several of the Dupont schools. He has been active with historical and genealogical societies including the Delaware Heritage Commission, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, and the Delaware Genealogical Society. Woolford is a graduate of Delaware State University, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting, and a graduate of Rutgers University, with a Master of Business Administration degree in marketing.

To view the presentation on YouTube visit: https://youtu.be/_7EaWi9EwaI