The story of Pleasant Litchford has become ingrained in Upper Arlington’s history. The city and its residents continue to look for new ways to acknowledge his contributions to the area, and that includes the Upper Arlington Education Foundation’s Pleasant Litchford Fund, which launched this past year.
Litchford, who bought his own freedom from slavery before contributing significantly to local development, became a renowned figure in Upper Arlington after the 2017 book Secrets Under the Parking Lot documented Upper Arlington High School’s location on top of the Pleasant Litchford Cemetery.
Since then, the Upper Arlington community has taken steps to better honor and represent Litchford’s legacy, including an archaeological examination of the cemetery site as UAHS moved to its new location.
“One of the best predictors of the future is the past,” says Matt Boaz, executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for Upper Arlington City Schools, “and how we treat the memory of our past community members is definitely a big indicator of how we do treat, and will treat, our community members now and in the future.”
What Happened to Litchford Cemetery?
When students filed into the new Upper Arlington High School in fall 2021, the old building was still within eyesight. Archaeologists were researching the land to better understand its history, including the remains of Pleasant Litchford Cemetery, which the previous high school was built atop after moving an estimated 27 bodies to other gravesites.
That cemetery was just one of Litchford’s contributions to the area. According to the Upper Arlington Historical Society’s website, after coming to Perry Township in the 1830s, Litchford purchased more than 200 acres of land. He donated land for a school for children of color, helped found the area’s first Black Baptist church and created the private cemetery for friends and family.
The archaeological research at the old UAHS site uncovered one fully intact grave and two partially exhumed graves.
Boaz says the work to better recognize Litchford’s legacy is an important example of the city’s efforts to create a sense of belonging for all. The Pleasant Litchford Fund is one such effort by the community.
“It was really a collaboration of quite a few different community members that wanted to make this happen,” says Alice Finley, executive director of the Education Foundation. “It’s important for us to honor this history. I think a lot of people really felt passionate about that piece of it.”
Equal Upper Arlington, a local nonprofit devoted to DEI initiatives, initially proposed the idea of naming a fund after Litchford. The foundation anticipated Equal UA’s idea would take years to reach the $10,000 minimum endowment mark.
Coincidentally, former Upper Arlington Board of Education member Carol Mohr came to the foundation within a week of that proposal with her own idea to endow a fund honoring Litchford. She offered $10,000 for the cause.
The foundation presented the fund idea to descendants of Litchford to ensure their approval, Finley says, and earned it after thoroughly explaining the intentions for the money. Another donor, Ramya Goyal, contributed $10,000 after discussing the fund’s intentions with the foundation.
What sets the Litchford Fund apart, Finley says, is that it has since garnered more than 30 community donors, bringing the total endowment to $30,000. Typically, a fund will be entirely endowed by an individual or family. Finley says this fund has received significant support from all levels of the community.
“I am so proud and honored that when our superintendent, Dr. Imhoff, heard about this, he specifically said, ‘We’re going to make a wrong right. We’re going to honor this memory and do the right thing,’” Finley says.
The mission of the fund, Finley says, is to support the mission of Equal UA within the Upper Arlington School District by promoting DEI with students, staff and families.
Finding opportunities for that has been no challenge.
“It’s been very easy because the school district is so committed to belonging and wellness and diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Finley says.
The fund has supported Change Makers, a group at Greensview and Windermere elementary schools, in a project where students designed and created face masks. The masks were then sold with the profits returning to the Litchford Fund.
The UAHS organization Ambassadors for Change received funding for its Start With Hello program, which encourages students to engage with others to combat loneliness and isolation. A T-shirt campaign for that program raised hundreds of dollars, which were again donated back to the Litchford Fund.
At Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School, the fund supported the creation of buddy benches after three fourth-graders wrote a grant application.
“I just really let it be (the students’) words,” says Felice Kassoy, a counselor at Wickliffe who has since retired. “They were so excited when they got funded.”
The benches provide a way for students to signify to others that they’re looking for a friend by sitting on the bench. With the support of the Litchford Fund, students made and painted new benches for Wickliffe, which had had buddy benches at its old school building.
“It really makes the community stronger to have organizations like the Upper Arlington Education Foundation that want to support the important work that their students are doing,” Kassoy says.
Thanks to the Education Foundation’s model, which limits spending to 4 percent of a total endowment, the Litchford Fund will continue supporting projects such as these in perpetuity.
Additional uses have included DEI development for teachers and counselors and updating book collections at Hastings and Jones middle schools to represent more cultures. Finley says the fund can also support individuals who may not be able to afford participation fees for sports, music or other extracurriculars.
“If we had had this fund for the last five years, it would’ve been well used every year because we really are focused on making Upper Arlington School District a place where everyone feels like they belong,” Finley says. “I don’t think that will ever go away. I just think belonging is always going to be important.”
Cameron Carr is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at ccarr@cityscenemediagroup.com.
