Randy Fennell was shopping for antiques in Fort Langley when a metal plaque with the names of school trustees caught his eye.
“I work with Surrey School District so my first thought was, ‘This does not belong here,'” he said.
Fennell bought the plaque and started investigating.
He discovered that it once hung on the walls of E.S. Doty school in McKinney, Texas, a school for African-American students during the time of segregation.
The school operated under Jim Crow laws that dictated African-Americans be “separate but equal.”
Once Fennell discovered the plaque’s origins, he wanted to return it back to Texas.
“It’s important that people have this history,” he said.
“To find out that something that came from a school that was a segregation school, something that was part of a dark history, it totally blew my mind. It made me really realize that this has to go home and this is really important that it doesn’t fall in the wrong hands.”
He sent the plaque back to Texas where it was unveiled for E.S. Doty alumni more than five decades after the school closed.
“I believe that God has a hand in many things,” Doty graduate Jesse McGowen said. “That the people who found it, He touched their hearts to realize this is a little more than just scrap junk.”
The piece of history is now showcased at McKinney High School, located north of Dallas.
“Our children need to know their heritage,” former Doty student Dorothy Shaw said. “Even though your circumstances may not be like someone else’s, you can still progress.
But Shaw is still curious about one thing.
“How did that plaque get all the way to Canada?”
Fennell would like to know the answer as well.
“I’m sure it has a story of its own, I would love to know what it is,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know.”
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