What’s in a name? For the descendants W.A. Perry, (for whom Richland One’s W.A. Perry Middle School is named), the name symbolizes pride, honor, and a bit of a family mystery that has been revealed.
A few months ago, Pamela Perry Donan of Atlanta, Georgia started tracing the roots of her grandfather, William Augustine Perry, and discovered it was possible he had at least two schools named after him: the Richland One school ( W.A. Perry Middle School) and another one in Georgia.
On Thursday, September 7, Donan, along with her two unsuspecting sisters, flew into Columbia to visit Richland One’s W.A. Perry Middle School. Her sisters, traveling with her on vacation, didn’t know about the visit to W.A. Perry. It was a big family surprise.
Dr. Robin Coletrain, principal of W.A. Perry, greeted the sisters and gave them a tour of the building before they left to continue on with their vacation.
For the last 30 years, Donan and her sisters, Anna Battle and Janet Hook, have taken turns planning their annual girls’ getaway. This year, Donan wanted to do something really different.
That’s when she started researching their grandfather’s history and thought a visit to the schools named after him would be a great adventure for her and her sisters. She didn’t tell her sisters about the visit to W.A. Perry until they’re en route.
Perry, who received degrees from Yale in 1907 and Harvard in 1933, was the first African-American principal in the Columbia school system (now known as Richland One) to earn a master’s degree.
From 1928-1938, he was principal at Waverly School and served as supervising principal of Leevy and Benedict schools until they were closed. He also served as instructor of observation and directed teaching at Allen University from 1928 until his death in 1938. Perry also was president of the Richland County Teachers Association.
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