The Lincoln School Story
Charlotte Pack's speech during the May 8, 2004
Ohio Historical Marker dedication ceremony for the
Lincoln School challenged the community to continue the journey toward healing and wholeness.
Through the efforts of the Highland County African American Awareness Research Council (AARC), the old Lincoln School lot at 537 North East Street received an Ohio Historical Marker in May 2004. This was the same year the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education. The marker honored the significant role Hillsboro played in the national movement toward integration. The marker also honored the women who persisted in the daily march to forge a better life for their children. It was the women and children who daily marched through snow, rain and sunshine with their young children to the white schools. It was the women who homeschooled the children. The marker also honored Thurgood Marshall and other significant legal counsel in the case.
The AARC asked Charlotte Pack to speak at the marker’s dedication ceremony. She shared the school’s history but also added the following challenge for continued healing for the community and nation:
"The Lincoln School story is more than remembering a building; it is about remembering people who found the courage to act and the faith to follow their convictions.
Today (May 8, 2004) we begin to write the sequel to the Lincoln School story as we unveil the historical marker. I believe this marker can be a signpost. It points to the past and to individuals who found the courage to act and the faith to follow their conviction. But it can also point to the future and can help write new chapters of the story.
We are still on a journey toward healing and wholeness in our community and nation. We are further along on the journey, but we have not arrived at our destination. Discrimination is illegal; now racial tension often happens on a more subtle, personal level. We have not yet put away our preconceived ideas and learned to have an open dialogue with love and forgiveness. Self-protective walls and defenses are built high on both sides of the fence. Prejudice is a two-way street.
The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 13 love is not easily offended, it thinks the best of the other person and offers forgiveness. We have not yet learned how to speak this language of love. In a healthy relationship, people express what they feel and want. The other person listens, then it’s his/her turn to express his/her self. In unhealthy relationships, people keep everything bottled up inside. We are often afraid to talk about race issues or even black history because we do not want to offend, but if our community is to continue toward a journey of wholeness and healing, we need to extend forgiveness, tolerance, love and an open dialogue with one another. We may not always agree, but let us disagree respectfully with love. This journey will need to continue one person at a time.
It is one person at a time that can make a difference in individual lives. Those individuals can join to form a chorus. The chorus can sing out with love, bringing light and change to a world darkened with ignorance. As the chorus sings, other people will join in the song of change. So, let this marker be a signpost to remind us to be the one voice singing in the darkness, to find the courage to act, the faith to follow our convictions, to offer tolerance, forgiveness, love, and an open dialogue with one another. Let this marker be a signpost to be the one voice. You and I can make a difference. The world is changed by one person at a time, one voice at a time. So, let us write the next chapters of the Lincoln School story and continue the journey toward healing and wholeness.”
The challenge Charlotte issued continues to be relevant today, so look for ideas on how to make the challenge a reality in your community with these resources on civil rights and nonviolent resistance.
Learn more about Ohio's “Black Laws” and Hillsboro's segregated Lincoln School with a timeline.
Read about the significant legal counsel and judges involved in the Lincoln School lawsuit.
Learn about the first book to write a detailed history on the Lincoln School story: Time 
Travels: 200 Years of Highland County History told through dairies, photos, letters and stories.
