A new historical marker recognizes Louise Archer, a groundbreaking Vienna teacher and principal, outside of the elementary school that bears her name.
Current students, educators, community members and former students of Archer gathered at Louise Archer Elementary School on Saturday (Sept. 6) to celebrate the marker’s unveiling.
The marker is the final installation in Fairfax County’s Black and African American Historical Marker Project, which launched back in 2021 to encourage a more inclusive understanding of Fairfax history.
Partnering with Fairfax County Public Schools, the county organized a contest in 2022 for students and youth to identify historically significant individuals, sites and events relevant to the local Black community. Six winners were announced that September, though the first marker wasn’t unveiled until June 2024.
Installed outside of Oakton High School, that marker recognized the civil rights activism of Lillian Blackwell, who grew up in the area and participated in ultimately successful lawsuits challenging segregation in Virginia schools and movie theaters.
Nominated for a marker by fourth graders at Louise Archer Elementary School as well as students from James Madison High School and Luther Jackson Middle School, Archer (1893-1948) taught at what was then called Herndon Colored School and she was a teacher and principal at Vienna Colored School.
According to the sign:
She provided quality education, taught life skills including cooking and gardening, organized extracurricular activities at her own expense, and drove students to and from school.
Since Fairfax County did not provide secondary education for African Americans until 1954, Archer had students use her Washington DC address to register for high school in the district so they would not pay out-of-state tuition.
When Archer died in 1948, former students successfully petitioned to re-name the Vienna Colored School in her honor.
The other markers installed as part of the project commemorated Gunnell’s Chapel in McLean, former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, Gum Springs resident Annie Harper for challenging Virginia’s poll tax, and the West Springfield 16, a group of people enslaved by the owner of the land where West Springfield High School now stands.
