Unveiling of New Historical Marker Honoring The Bulah Family & Brown v. Board of Education

For over 70 years, the story of the Bulah family has stood as a landmark in the fight for educational equality—one that began on a quiet road in Hockessin and helped shape the course of American history.

On Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., that legacy will be formally recognized with the unveiling of a new State of Delaware Historical Marker near the site of the Bulah family home. In 1951, Fred and Sarah Bulah, determined that their daughter Shirley should have the same opportunities as white students, challenged the state’s refusal to provide her transportation to a nearby white school. With the legal support of Louis Redding and Jack Greenberg, their case—Bulah v. Gebhart—was joined with Belton v. Gebhart in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Chancellor Collins J. Seitz’s ruling in their favor became part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, ending legal segregation in public education.

The ceremony will bring together local and state leaders, including State Representative Michael F. Smith, Hockessin Historical Society President Pete Seely, daughter of Shirley Bulah René Michelle Ricks-Stamps, Friends of Hockessin Colored School #107, Inc. Board Chair Ray A. Blackwell, M.D. M.J., Friends of Hockessin Colored School #107, Inc. Executive Director David J. Wilk, Director and State Archivist Stephen M. Marz, and representatives from the Delaware Public Archives who oversee the Historical Markers Program.

The new marker not only commemorates a critical chapter in Delaware’s history but also stands as a reminder of the individuals whose determination helped change the course of the nation.

About the State of Delaware Historical Markers Program:

The State of Delaware Historical Markers Program traces its origins to 1929, when Governor C. Douglass Buck appointed a committee to review Delaware’s notable historic sites and develop a way to identify them. In 1931, the General Assembly of Delaware passed an act establishing a commission to erect historical markers throughout the state. The markers in each county were numbered sequentially as they were proposed, preceded by NC (New Castle), K (Kent), and S (Sussex) to note the county in which they were located. Since the 1930s, the State of Delaware has erected over 700 markers. The Delaware Public Archives has administered the Historical Markers Program since 1990.

For more information about the Delaware Public Archives or to learn more about events and other items of interest at the Archives, visit the website at archives.delaware.gov, and follow on Facebook and Instagram.