A Juneteenth Celebration will be held at Valena C. Jones School on June 17, 2023, to announce the kickoff of an Oral History Project. The project is to begin collecting contact information for former teachers and students who are interested in participating in interviews. Juneteenth celebrates the independence of Black Americans, and the celebration is planned to entertain, educate and empower the Bay St. Louis community and surrounding area.
Hearing their stories is a powerful recognition of the struggle for civil rights, the barriers to education faces and the successful lives and careers of so many graduates of this school. The friends of the Valena C Jones School hopes to use this project as a springboard to create an exhibit about the school and the community leaders it formed.
