Mrs. Maydell Belk, beloved mother of Vickie L. Belk, is honored for her steadfast commitment and courageous activism during the Civil Rights era. As a member and former usher of Oakland Baptist Church, she helped foster a sanctuary for organizing, education, and hope amid turbulent times.
Her home and church served as gathering places for community leaders advocating for justice. Whether attending local protests, supporting voter registration drives, or offering mentorship to youth, Mrs. Belk’s actions were rooted in faith and fortitude. Her family, among the church’s founding members, embodied a legacy of resistance and resilience that continues to inspire today.
Fifty-five years after Black students walked through the doors of the original Minnie Howard School for the first time, a plaque will be installed honoring those whose efforts made it possible.
The historic marker, which will honor the efforts of two families who targeted the Alexandria School Board’s segregationist policies, is set to be unveiled in a ceremony on March 8.
“This marker will be placed at a time that our federal government can’t even mention diversity, equity and inclusion,” Judy Belk, one of Alexandria’s first Black public school students, told ALXnow. “I can’t tell you how emotional it makes me feel and how grateful I am that the city of Alexandria is standing its ground and acknowledging a right that was wrong.”
Photos & Video from the Event . . .
A special “Thank You” to everyone in attendance and to all who have supported the efforts of Mrs. Maydell Casey Belk.
Full Message from Historic Marker
First Minnie Howard School (1954–2024)
The Inscription Reads: In the fall of 1954, the Alexandria School Board opened a new school on this site serving grades one through seven with twenty classrooms staffed by nineteen teachers. The campus was named for Minnie Howard (1869–1950), who helped establish the Alexandria Parent Teacher Association and served as the first juvenile probation officer.
The school opened the same year that the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education ruled against the segregation of public schools. After several local Black families successfully sued the school system, the first Black students began to integrate Alexandria public schools that had been reserved for whites.
Breaking Barriers
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that it was unconstitutional for public schools to bar children attending based on race, Virginia and other southern states refused to comply with the new law. Alexandria’s longtime school superintendent, Thomas Chambliss “T.C.” Williams, an avowed and vocal segregationist, fought against the integration of Black students into Alexandria’s white-only schools.
With the school system refusing to comply, individual Black families took the initiative and filed lawsuits against the Alexandria School Board to force them to integrate public schools for students of all races.
Photo Caption: NAACP attorneys Frank D. Reeves, Leonard W. Holt, Otto L. Tucker, right, and Thomas L. Whitehead, left, at Federal Court, Alexandria, September 27, 1958.
At Minnie Howard
Two young Black families with deep roots in the nearby Seminary community—Stanley O. and Julia Adams Bradby, and Maydey Casey Belk—enrolled their children for the 1959–60 school year. Like other Black children, materials, equipment, and books were not as new as Fairfax County’s, and the children faced segregated classrooms and limited academic opportunities. Despite these challenges, the Bradby and Belk children made academic progress and participated in extracurricular activities. The parents worked with NAACP lawyers Frank D. Reeves and Otto L. Tucker, who filed suit in Federal Court to enforce desegregation. The Bradby and Belk families courageously stepped forward as plaintiffs in the case. In December 1959, the court ruled in their favor, and on February 16, 1960, the children—Deborah A. Bradby (1st grade), Marie A. Bradby (5th grade), Vickie Belk (3rd grade), and James O. Bradby (7th grade)—became the first students of Minnie Howard School as enrolled students.
The Bradby and Belk families—like countless others who endured discrimination—took a stand for racial justice and equity. They became elementary school teachers, civil rights leaders, and professionals committed to eradicating racial discrimination and ensuring access to quality public education. All five students became successful professionals.
Timeline
- 1952 Alexandria School Board prepares plans for a new school.
- 1954 Minnie Howard School opens.
- 1960 Five Black children in the neighborhood are admitted after a successful lawsuit.
- 1965 The city’s Black children attend Alexandria schools nearest their neighborhood. Minnie Howard becomes a junior high school.
- 1971 Gilbert Mays, the first Black school principal in Alexandria, is assigned to Minnie Howard Middle School.
- 1993 Minnie Howard reopens exclusively for ninth-grade students.
- 2024 After 70 years of service, the original Minnie Howard School building is torn down and replaced by a new state-of-the-art facility. Playing fields from the old school remain as foundations of the new school.
Photo Captions:
- Minnie Howard School, 1954
- Maydey Casey Belk (Courtesy of the Belk family)
- Stanley O. and Julia Adams Bradby (Courtesy of the Bradby family)
Footer: CITY OF ALEXANDRIA • EST. 1749
Logo: Alexandria Heritage Trail
Acknowledgment: With appreciation to Perkins Eastman, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., Chronicle Heritage, and the Office of Historic Alexandria.