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www.FredericksburgParent.NET 11 In Fredericksburg, Local African Americans created (and funded) several institutions dedicated to serving African American students in the late nineteenth and early twen- tieth centuries, including a Shiloh Church School, housed in Shiloh Baptist Church from 1867 through 1874, the Fredericksburg Colored School, opened in 1884, and the Fredericksburg Normal and Industrial Institute, which served high school students starting in 1903. In 1935, the city built its first publicly supported Black high school, the Walker- Grant School, on Gunnery Road. Named after Joseph Walker and Jason C. Grant, the school honored the contributions of two local leaders in African American education. Joseph Walker was born enslaved in Spotsylvania County on December 17, 1854. After emancipation, he moved to Fredericksburg, where he worked first at a paper mill, then as a butler for a local judge, and finally as sexton of St. George's Episcopal Church, a position he held for over 50 years. He became deeply invested in Black education in this area and was active in many local political and fraternal organizations. Jason C. Grant was born in Ontario, Canada, on January 9, 1861. His father had been enslaved in Kentucky, and fled the state when he was 21, settling in Canada. Grant attend- ed the Wilberforce Educational Institute in Ohio before moving to Fredericksburg. He eventually became principal of the Fredericksburg Colored School, retiring in 1924 after working in education for 42 years. In 1968, when the Fredericksburg school system deseg- regated, Walker-Grant served as the city's first integrated middle school. Walker-Grant Middle School moved to a new building in 1988, and the historic building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Dr. Gaila Sims joined the FAM as the Curator of African American History and Special Projects in August 2022. Origi- nally from Riverside, California, she received her B.A. in His- tory and African American Studies from Oberlin College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Aus n.