Recent Reads: "The Battle for Loudoun County: Inside the Culture War Between a "Woke" School Board and the Radical Right in America's Wealthiest Suburb"

This blog mostly focuses on the history of the school buildings, rather than the bureaucracy, attendance zone fights, and other antics that goes on daily in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). This is probably for the best. However, it's not every day a book comes out to discuss an insider perspective on the school system's operation. Enter Wayde B. Byard in The Battle for Loudoun County: Inside the Culture War Between a "Woke" School Board and the Radical Right in America's Wealthiest Suburb. 

Byard served as LCPS' Public Information Officer for over 20 years. During his tenure, he became a mini-celebrity known for his deadpan recorded messages sent out when school was cancelled/delayed due to snow. The book covers his last few years in that role, 2021-2023. After progressive policies pushes the school system into the politicized national spotlight, two sexual assaults at different schools with the same perpetrator launches a right-wing special grand jury investigation. Their findings lead to Byard indicted for an alleged cover-up, placing him on leave without pay. In his memoir, Byard takes you moment-by-moment, from school board meetings at the Administration Building to the defense table at his trial. 

Byard serves as an opinionated narrator, giving the facts of what happened, but also all the tidbits and his opinions about everyone involved. There are some hot takes, and sometimes I wish he shared a little less. But can I blame him? He is a man who (spoiler alert) is acquitted, has retired, and has nothing professionally to lose anymore. But between his over-honesty and a situation that goes from bad to worse, it's an intoxicating read. 

While mainly a story covering terrible circumstances, it's also a story of how Byard rallies his spirits in his hardest moments, like spending time with his young grandson, and cherishing the friends and family that stuck with him through it. After the last few years we have all collectively had, I definitely related to him finding those little things that made him happy/at peace when surrounded by so much uncertainty and worry.

Do I believe his side of the story? Yes. He presents his case very factually and logically. He has his opinions, yes, but he also goes over a lot of concrete material and sources, and it's clear what is fact and what is opinion. And in the end, he was proven not guilty by a jury! I may have some confirmation bias, but his innocence in this matter felt well-supported and secure.

The Battle for Loudoun County is an entertaining read, a fable for how today's political climate can upend anyone's life. It's unfortunately an ever-increasing common occurrence. Check it out! It can be found in bookstores and online.

Recent Reads: "Dirt Don't Burn: A Black Community's Struggle for Educational Equality Under Segregation"

I read a new-to-me book, Dirt Don't Burn: A Black Community's Struggle for Educational Equality Under Segregation, by Barry Harrelson and Larry Roeder. It came out last year, and it's all about education in Loudoun County, so it is the perfect thing to talk about here!

Dirt Don't Burn chronicles Black education in Loudoun County from the Civil War to the late 1960's, when the school system was forced to desegregate. It doesn't just cover education itself, but also the many facets that need to be met in order to have a thriving learning environment: health/sanitation, heating, nutrition, transportation, administration, funding, and teacher education. It also sheds light on the many sung and unsung heroes who championed the fight for better Black education, as well as the work, petitions, letters, and organizing those individuals accomplished.

This book was created by the Edwin Washington Project, a non-profit dedicated to documenting the impact of segregated education in Loudoun. They've done some fantastic work uncovering and preserving stories, data, and history that really hasn't been public knowledge. And this book demonstrates that. The Edwin Washington Project is a subsidiary of the Edwin Washington Society, which was created to foster non-partisan conversations about the value of diversity in modern society, usually with a history/preservation focus.

Back to the book. The book's emphasis is on Black education, but in order to truly explain the dichotomy between the separate education systems in Loudoun, white education also has to be defined, so it really is an overview of both. There is lots to glean from its pages, especially in the early years of public education in the county. This is a thorough book of information that explains the intricacies of Loudoun's early public education system and how it grew. I understand their scope was just covering segregation, but I wish their coverage of events continued beyond that point. While de jure segregation was put to an end, there are still areas of de facto segregation.

The Edwin Washington Society has said they have more books planned, so I look forward to seeing what they publish next. In the meantime, add Dirt Don't Burn to your reading list!

Dirt Don't Burn can be bought online in multiple places. It also is available at select bookstores around Loudoun County. I happened to find one at the Very Virginia Shop in Downtown Leesburg, and it turned out to be an autographed copy! Just goes to show, it never hurts to shop local! 

Recent Reads: "We Have Been Waiting Too Long"

Lord Loudoun 1966, LCHS Yearbook

   I don't know why I didn't stumble on this sooner. At Balch Library is a wonderful dissertation by Matthew Exline, a History Major at Patrick Henry College. It's full title is " "We Have Been Waiting Too Long," Civil Rights and the Death of Segregation in Loudoun County, Virginia."

   To rephrase the title, it covers the Civil Rights Movement in Loudoun County from 1917 to 1969.

   Just a forewarning: There are many sources out there already available, and I have not seen everything out there. That being said, I thought it was one of the best. The dissertation is the most complete journey of the county's civil rights movement I have read. With others, I got brief overall. This explained all the twists and turns, giving details on various struggles.

   The segregation of schools was a main part of Loudoun County's segregation. This dissertation devotes two out of its five chapters on the schools. Other chapters go over desegregating Purcellville Public Library, restaurants in Leesburg and Middleburg, and desegregation of recreational places in Leesburg.

   My favorite line: "Such crises usually involved Douglass High School, which was apparently in perpetual need of urgent attention." Poor Douglass!

   It even ends with a message about how "Even though the events may be partly forgotten, that does not mean that all the wounds are healed or all the wrongs have been righted." I think this is true at times. It did say that LCPS was the only branch that has admitted its previous wrongdoings. And LCPS will continue to again in the LCPS History Video we are working on.


   "We Have Been Waiting Too Long" is currently available at Balch Library. Balch is connected to the main Loudoun County Public Library System, so you can reserve the book from your closest library branch as well.

[Update 2020: Matthew Exline has now released this as a book! It is titled "We Have Been Waiting Too Long: The Struggle Against Racial Segregation in Loudoun County, Virginia." You can find copies to purchase here.]