Sharing a remarkable story with a new generation
Rappahannock County Public Schools welcomed authors and cousins Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby on Feb. 15. During a school-wide assembly at the high school, the special guests shared their family story, which began in Rappahannock County in the 1800s. Students attentively listened as Phoebe described researching her family's history and eventually finding and connecting with her cousin, Betty. She explained to the audience that her first introduction email to Betty was on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Within her email, she referenced Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech by including the quote “a dream that… the sons of former slaves and slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of Brotherhood.” She added, “Perhaps, we as daughters can contribute to fulfilling [that] dream.” Since that time, both Phoebe and Betty have been working together to promote this message of peace.
Betty shared a remarkable story of her father's courage to sue the Warren County School Board to allow her to attend the high school following the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education. This case, Betty Ann Kilby et. al. v. the County School Board of Warren County, Virginia, ultimately led to the school integration, allowing Betty and 22 other Black students to attend the Warren County High School in 1959.
RCHS students learned how Betty and Phoebe worked together in 2011 to erect a historical marker on the grounds of the former high school (now Warren County Middle School), which names Betty's father, James W. Kilby, for his pivotal role in the school's integration.
Following a community meet and greet event at Before & After, Betty and Phoebe returned to RCPS to present to students in grades fourth through seventh at the elementary school. The two assemblies were in honor of Black History Month and were made possible by the school’s justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity team and the PATH Foundation.