Mt. Zion AME Church, Devon Unveils Official Pennsylvania State Historical Marker

Mt. Zion AME Church, Devon Unveils Official Pennsylvania State Historical Marker

By Bertha L. Jackmon

The weather was overcast but that did not dim the excitement in the atmosphere about the purpose of the gathering that afternoon. Mt. Zion AME Church in Devon, Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, was proud to hold the Dedication of an Official Pennsylvania State Historical Marker Commemorating the Berwyn School Fight 1932-1934 on Saturday, November 21, 2020. The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) approved and provided the marker.

In March 1932, two separate school districts, Tredyffrin and Easttown, imposed an official policy to segregate their public elementary school black children from white children (grades 1-8). The Black families stood up for their childrens’ rights to equal education and said “No.” The “School Fight” and boycott of the schools lasted two years and school segregation was defeated outside of court.

In January 2015, Mt. Zion AME Church and Cemetery were listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on the state level with significance for Ethnic Heritage/Black and Social History. The church building and its members were the center of resistance and organization against segregation policies of the local school district.

The Rev. April M. Martin, the pastor of Mt. Zion, acknowledged several participants in the Berwyn School Fight including Mrs. Bessie Cunningham, a student, now age 99; Mrs. Nancy Jemmott, the parsonage teacher of students, represented by her niece, the Rev. Marilyn Tunnell of Mt. Zion; and Mrs. Lillian Williams, a parent who offered—with an infant in her arms—to take her husband’s place in jail for their children’s truancy so he could continue to support the family. Her action triggered the ending of the jailing of parents. She was represented by her granddaughter, Mrs. Paulette Ware of Mt. Zion. Also acknowledged was Mr. Oscar B. Cobb, the president of the Bryn Mawr (now Main Line) Branch of the NAACP, represented by his grandson, Mr. Robert “Barney” Wright, Jr.

The audience listened intently to the pointed and fascinating information all the speakers shared. The speakers were State Senator Andrew E. Dinniman, a member of the PHMC; the Honorable Nancy Moses, the chair of the PHMC; Ms. Michele Burger, the president of Tredyffrin Easttown School Board; Mr. Roger Thorne, the past president of the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society (TEHS) and author of “Segregation on the Upper Main Line: The ‘School Fight’ of 1932-1934;” and Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter, the daughter of attorneys for the Black families, Raymond Pace Alexander, LLB and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Ph.D., LLB, who was represented by Bertha L. Jackmon, Mt. Zion’s Church Historian.

The guest speaker was Mr. Robert J. Wise, Jr., the lead consultant for Mt. Zion’s application for the NRHP, the president of Wise Preservation Planning LLC, and currently, Principal Senior Architectural Historian for Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc. He spoke on the arduous process of applying for the NRHP and the Pennsylvania State Historical Marker.   

The Marker was unveiled and before Jackmon read the marker, she thanked God for the families that fought for their children. The dedication was completed, which was its own historical event. A video and history of the event are on Mt. Zion’s website: historicmtziondevon.org.

Bertha L. Jackmon is the church historian for Mt. Zion AME Church in Devon, West Mainline District, Philadelphia Annual Conference, First Episcopal District.