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The only known photo of the 1968 graduation class of P.S. Jones High School will now be on display at the P.S. Jones Museum of African-American Education, thanks to 1968 graduate Bishop Frederick Hopkins.

Hopkins, along with nine other members of the graduating class presented the photo on Saturday, Feb. 15, to Alice Sadler, museum curator and graduate of P.S. Jones High School. “I received the photo in 1969; a year after the school had closed,” said Hopkins. “My sister actually found it in the trash after it had been discarded when the school closed and gave it to me. I put it in storage for all of these years and decided to donate it to the museum after it opened. It brings back a lot of memories of where God has brought us from, and He has brought us a long way. It has been 57 years since many of us stood in this very band room, and played music together. It is so special to come together with everyone today, some of whom I’ve not seen for 57 years.”

Sadler told the gathering that with the addition of the picture, they are now part of the only museum in North Carolina that focuses on the history of the education of Blacks. “This is a magnificent day,” said Sadler. “We have been searching for artifacts that take us through the history of P.S. Jones and beyond. This picture represents the last statement to be made for the history of P.S. Jones itself. It brings closure to that thing we call segregation and entering into what our class hoped was the glorious days of integration. There were troubled times and there still are troubled times, but we continue to persevere and we are going to be alright. This is more than a treasure for us. Just the fact that Bishop Hopkins entrusted us shows his faith in us as a museum. We will cherish and take good care of it.”

Frank Smallwood, class president in 1968, was touched by the occasion and expressed his thanks to Sadler for reaching out to him to see if he could pull together some of his fellow graduates. “I thank God for the response that we received,” said Smallwood. “This day is special to me, because we were the last class of P.S. Jones. For us to be represented here in this museum is a momentous occasion and represents what the school meant to each of us. We were a class that was really together. We loved one another, we went to games together, partied together, and here we are today, some 57 years later. I’m just overwhelmed by it all.”