Our History

Since 1964, the foundation has provided over $185,000 in grants and loans to deserving students

WHO WAS MISS JANE SERPTA DEAN (Jennie Dean)?

Let’s begin the story of the Jennie Dean Educational Foundation with describing the Manassas Educational Foundation’s development and growth out of the educational institution called The Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth (MISCY). The MISCY founder, Miss Jane Serepta Dean (Jennie Dean), despite being born into slavery in 1852 and without the benefit of a formal education, had a vision to change the lives of countless African Americans in Manassas, Prince William County, and the region. 

When the Civil War ended, leaving the county desolate and deprived, Jennie Dean sought work as a domestic in Washington, D.C., hoping to build a new life for herself, but never forgetting the African-American community she left behind. She traveled home by train on weekends to train “her people” in life skills, to establish churches, and finally, to establish the Manassas Industrial School.

After almost a decade of fundraising, the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth was chartered on October 7, 1893. On October 24, 2020, the City of Manassas erected a statue to honor Miss Jennie Dean’s legacy at the site of the MISCY at 9601 Wellington Road Manassas, VA.

As the school endeavored to raise enough funds for building maintenance, equipment, tuition and staff salaries, the existing Board of Trustees sought out new Board members and partners.  In the early days of the School, Miss Dean negotiated with wealthy businessmen and women to join the Board of Trustees and, as was the custom for Board members, to share their wealth to build the school. Early on, most of the Trustees came from outside the local area such as New York City, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington, DC. They were bankers, lawyers, doctors and corporate executives. The funds were growing, but the diversity of the Board of Trustees was lacking representation from the people who were served by the school.  

By 1900, over 150 students attended the school’s three-term academic year, October through May. The school offset its operating expenses and allowed the students to earn their tuition and board through its industries. Excess products from these industries were sold to support the school’s needs. Despite these diligent efforts, expenses usually exceeded income and the school often suffered periods of debt operating for 44 years (even after Miss Jennie Dean’s death in 1913) under difficult economic, political and social conditions. 

The community, represented by alumni and enthusiastic supporters from First Baptist Church in Manassas, felt excluded from decision-making and sought to have representation on the Board. Although local representation was essential, the financial resources that stopped coming from the wealthy Board members took its toll. There wasn’t enough operating capital to keep the buildings from deterioration, buy livestock and keep up with farming machinery. 

COUNTY SCHOOLS vs BROWN-vs-BOARD OF EDUCATION

In 1938, three counties surrounding the school (Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax) bought the MISCY and renamed it the Manassas Regional High School to create the first public high school for Black people in Virginia. The public high school included primary and secondary grades and was in existence until 1954 when two of the counties (Fauquier and Fairfax) transferred their students to attend schools in their respective counties. This occurred when the landmark decision by the Supreme Court in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education mandated that state-enforced laws on school desegregation were unconstitutional. The schools were closed in nearby Prince Edward County Virginia during this time as a protest against this decision. The Jennie Dean Elementary School is currently on the site of the Manassas Regional High School.

LAND SALE TO ESTABLISH AN EDUCATIONAL TRUST FUND

In 1959, the Woodbridge Clay Product Company offered to buy 99 acres of the land where livestock, orchards and crops were grown for the Manassas Institute for Colored Youth. The 99 acres included land from the original land contributions for MISCY. The MISCY Board of Trustees led, by Dr. John D. Williams, accepted the offer since they were unable to maintain the land and the unused buildings. The Board established a trust with the proceeds of the land sale to assist the High School and to make an annual contribution to the United Negro College Fund. The county razed the physical buildings on the campus after disrepair.

MANASSAS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED – JUNE 24, 1963

Board member turnover and waning interest from Prince William County in keeping the school open in 1963 led the Board of Trustees to consider a new approach. Dr. Williams retained Attorney Spottswood W. Robinson, III of Washington, DC to act on behalf of the Board of Trustees of The Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth to draw up new articles of incorporation for the establishment of a foundation to afford financial assistance to students attending institutions of higher learning. The foundation was named Manassas Educational Foundation, Incorporated (MEF). The charter of MEF was ratified by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s State Corporation Commission on June 24, 1963. The Journal Messenger, Manassas, VA newspaper headlined on October 15, 1964:  Manassas Educational Foundation Will Help Negro College Students. The Foundation served as the vehicle to perpetuate the aims of the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth that were set by Miss Jennie Dean 70 years earlier in 1893. It was reported to be the first all-Negro foundation established to help Negro youth in higher education. The original Board of Directors for the Foundation were alumni of the Manassas Industrial School, relatives of alumni, members of the First Baptist Church and others who were members of the surrounding community and who cared deeply about educating youth. 

The names of Roger V. Bush, Edward F. Fletcher, John M. Ellison, Edwin B. Henderson, T.O. Madden, Thomas C. Tyler, Gurlie Wanzer, John D. Williams, James T. Chambers, Leslie Coates, Clayton Frye, H.L.S. Hollomon, Annie B. Rose, William H. Waddell, Hiram S. Wildy, Reuben W. Hall, Wallace E. Costner, J. Sidney Holland, A.H.S. Johnson, Milton Sheppard, Van Dyke A. Walker and Alice Chiles Williams should be remembered as pioneers who spearheaded this effort to support the youth of Northern Virginia. 

The MEF established an account at Consolidated Bank and Trust of Richmond, VA with over $50,000 resulting from the land sales and later trusts awarded from the deaths of original Board members. A Scholarship Committee was established to provide scholarship and loan applications to recommended students from the areas of northern Virginia noted in the Constitution. At the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, the vote would be taken to approve the awards. A promissory note was provided to each loan recipient at a modest rate of interest. The first loan recipients in 1967 were Herman Lewis who attended Union Theological Seminary and Aaron Burrell who attended Virginia State College. Sandra Lee Jones who attended Utica College in Syracuse, NY was given a loan in 1968.  The late Wayne Turner was awarded a loan to matriculate at Howard University School of Pharmacy in 1968. He was asked to join the Board of Directors after completion of his degree. He served faithfully and was made Treasurer before his untimely death.  Mr. Vernard Henley of Richmond, VA, most capably lead the Finance Committee as Treasurer until his death in 2014. Each year the Board approves and awards scholarships and loans to 2-4 deserving students. A rough calculation of how much has been given during the years of 1967- 2019 is $184,819. 

MEF TAX-FREE STATUS

In 1991, the MEF Board of Directors voted to establish their tax-exempt status under the leadership of President Mr. Carol Thomas and legal support from Board Member and attorney, Mr. Curtis Nash. According to the laws under section 501(c) 3 of the federal code, the Foundation should provide a 60%-40% awards in the form of scholarships and loans respectively. The Scholarship and Loan Committee reached out to schools in the area and sought applications for both scholarships and loans. The Board of Directors was also charged with reminding students to pay back their loans upon completion of their higher education. Life and other challenges resulted in some of those loans being written off after greater than five years of default.

NAME CHANGE: JENNIE DEAN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

Current Board President, Thurma McCann Goldman, MD, MPH received two loans from MEF in 1972 and 1973. Dr. Goldman promptly repaid the loans. The Board invited Dr. Goldman to join in 1985. COL Ulysses X. White, a prominent Manassas resident and Council member, joined the Board and quickly became a leader in fostering the legacy of Miss Jennie Dean.  The Board voted and approved, in 2019, to update the Constitution and By-Laws including a name change to create a more recognizable image for the Foundation. The Board is also actively seeking new members to work toward preserving the legacy.

CURRENT OFFICERS

The Manassas Educational Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors continues to meet and establish updated ways to manage their responsibility with the vision of carrying out the legacy of Miss Jennie Dean’s undaunted faith toward leadership and community service. The current mission is to provide needy and qualified students from Northern Virginia a scholarship or loan once they provide evidence of their acceptance to a bona fide College or University in their senior year of High School.  Life events caused Board membership to wane requiring current leadership to seek out new membership to strengthen the commitment with enthusiasm and new ideas. The Constitution and By-laws are updated to represent current activities that also adhere to legal requirements of a tax-exempt organization. The Board’s annual meeting is now held in concert with a Scholarship Luncheon held for the student recipients and their families. This is an opportunity for recipients to meet the Board of Directors personally. It is also used as a way of recruiting students to give back once their educational pursuits are completed in the form of joining the Board of Directors. The current Board of Directors consist of the following:

Dr. Thurma M. Goldman, President; Mr. George Pruden, Vice President; Mr. Clifton Jones, Treasurer; Ms. Warren (Tina) Garnett, Secretary; Dr. Cephas Goldman; Ms. Loretta Hall; Dr. Zella Jones; Mr. Cameron White; Ms. Jayla Jones; Ms. Stacey Cason; Ms. Desare Williams; Ms. Haseltine M. Moore and past Presidents Mr. Carol White; and COL Ulysses White.