Feb. 27—On Monday, the Stillwater City Council appointed five members to the newly approved Washington School Advisory Committee.

The Booker T. Washington School — also known as “Washington School,” the once all-Black school on West 12th Avenue in Stillwater — was desegregated after the last class graduated in 1956.

The city acquired the closed and defunct Washington School in 2022 with funds that were donated to the municipality with the goal of historically rehabilitating and rebuilding the structures and grounds.

The five-member committee will work with the City to analyze and make recommendations to the city council on the assessment, proposed design, renovations, and the redevelopment of the building, from planning through construction.

The final outcome will be a Washington School that becomes a vibrant teaching and learning community center of cultural and historical significance, which can share space and information in new areas of education, history, sports and special events in the City of Stillwater.

Stipulations of the committee were that it have at least one person on it that is also a member of the Washington School Alumni Association.

That person turned out to be Karen Washington who is president of that group. Other members named are former Stillwater City Manager Norman McNickle, Stillwater Community Center Foundation chair James Beckstrom, Oklahoma State University Professor Laura Arata and Gary Clark.

As City of Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce announced the appointments, and as the nominations were approved, Washington was seated at the meeting, but she raised her hands high in the air with great elation and had a giant smile.

“We’re really excited about what’s happening with the Washington School Heritage Project,” said Joyce, mirroring the joy of many in the room who were present for this moment, and who have worked very hard to reach this point with Washington School.

“We want to cultivate relationships and understanding while increasing education, advocacy and community through this project,” Joyce said.

“I know we’re all excited to be a part of honoring the legacy of Washington School and its alumni, and proud now that we’ve appointed an official committee as we continue to grow this work.

Now as we enter into the last few days of Black History Month, let’s ensure that momentum and progress continue in all realms of celebrating the heritage of our Black community here in Stillwater,” he said.

For more information on this project and other City projects, please visit the website at https://stillwaterok.gov/536/City-Projects.