Historical marker to honor four black teachers who integrated Prince William Public Schools

Called the “Courageous Four,” Fannie Fitzgerald, Mary Porter, Maxine Coleman, and Zella Brown took teaching positions in county public schools in 1964, about 10 years after the U.S. Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education decision that struck down segregation in schools.

Until then, the county schools had largely been segregated.

The Prince William County Historical Commission will unveil the marker at Fannie Fitzgerald Elementary School, 15500 Bentia Fitzgerald Drive in Dale City, at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 10.

Attendees should park at the Ferlazzo Government Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive in Woodbridge. Shuttle buses will provide transportation to the unveiling ceremony.

Fitzgerald Elementary is named one of the Courageous Four. Another school in Woodbridge, Mary Porter Traditional School, is named after one of the original four teachers.

Rob Orrison of the Prince William County Historic Preservation Office interviewed Fitzgerald for an oral history project in 2008.

When I interviewed her, I had questions about the challenges she faced and how different the kids were back then. And she said, ‘kids are kids, they were no different,” Orrison told Potomac Local News.

Fitzgerald initially taught at the Macrae School, near Haymarket, originally established in 1870, and educated black children between 1914 and 1953. The school no longer stands.

Orrison said when compared to other jurisdictions forced to
integrate their schools, the process in Prince William County is considered one of the most successful classroom integrations.

The Prince William County Historical Commission approved the new marker a year ago.

There are two family connections to Fannie Fitzgerald Elementary School. While the school’s namesake died in 2016, Fitzgerald’s daughter, Kim Fitzgerald Lennon, teaches kindergarten at the school. She’s worked there since 2008.

Finally, the street on which Fannie Fitzgerald Elementary School sits is named after Fitzgerald’s daughter, Benita, who also has a historical marker erected in her honor.

Still living today, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley was an athlete on the U.S. Olympic Teams of 1980 and 1984. She graduated from Gar-Field Senior High School in Woodbridge in 1979.