[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALAPAHA COLORED SCHOOL

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                           HON. AUSTIN SCOTT

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 25, 2024

  Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the 100th Anniversary of the Alapaha Colored School in Alapaha, 
Georgia, on November 8, 2024.
  Built in 1924, the Alapaha Colored School is one of the last 
surviving wood-framed schools that served the black population in and 
around Berrien County, Georgia. Alapaha Colored School was founded by 
Mr. Nathan Bridges, a former slave who moved to Alapaha around 1880, 
and Mr. Brutus Shipman, who was raised by Bridges.
  This school was in operation from 1924 until 1953, when a modern 
school was constructed for African American children. The school 
accommodated eleven grades while only having four classrooms. The 
school board later used the building for summer GED classes for WWII 
veterans who could not finish school before the war.
  In 2002, after the restoration efforts of Alapaha's former Mayor, 
James Boone, and several former school students, it was placed on the 
National Register of Historic Places. Today, it is a museum for 
everyone to visit and learn about this important piece of African 
American history in our district.
  This school is a testament to its founders' commitment to educating 
African American children in Georgia's Eighth Congressional District. I 
join the Town of Alapaha in recognizing and celebrating the historic 
achievements of this establishment.

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