Falls School District's renaming of school completes story of Bloneva Bond

Aug. 29—NIAGARA FALLS — Bloneva and Harwood Bond moved from Daytona Beach, Florida to Niagara Falls so that he could begin a career as a chemist with Hooker Chemical.

She hoped to find work as a teacher in the Falls School District. But that dream died when Bloneva came face-to-face with an ugly truth.

"She had hoped for a job as a teacher," her niece, Lynn Richardson said. "But she couldn't get a job because (the Falls schools) were not hiring Black teachers."

Generations later, a different dream will come true for Bloneva Bond's family and friends when what was the city's Niagara Street Elementary School becomes Bloneva Bond Primary School. The designation becomes official with a community celebration at the Niagara Street campus on Tuesday.

"We're so excited about that," Richardson said. "Our aunt was the staple of our family. She was quite the character, very proud and very opinionated."

Bloneva (Pride) Bond was a middle child, raised with her two brothers by parents who placed a high value on the importance of education. Rebuffed in her efforts to teach in the Falls schools, she became a businesswoman, establishing her own hair styling salon and becoming a social worker.

She also became a community activist, through her church, New Hope Baptist, and as the vice president of the Niagara Falls Chapter of the NAACP. Her niece recalls her as a "trail- blazer."

Former Falls School Board Member Don King said she became a giant in the community.

"She was one of a kind," he said. "She was as tough as they come and she wouldn't compromise her principles."

Eventually, in 1979, Bond joined King as a school board member. As the first black woman ever elected to the Falls Board of Education, Bond would now help oversee the school district that had once refused to hire her.

"She was a trusted colleague on the school board and one of my closest friends," King said.

Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie said the decision to change the name of a Falls school for the first time in almost half a century came as the result of a "grassroots effort" by the activist group Men Standing Strong Together.

"They thought we had a lot of schools named after streets and numbers," Laurrie said. "And they thought a school named after someone prominent in the African-American community would give our students a person to look up to and a person to be like."

Laurrie said the school board formed a committee to look into name changes and asked the members to focus on people with a local connection. Bond's name quickly came up.

"This person was local. The first African-American to served on the school board," Laurrie said. "She fought for civil rights in the '60s and '70s. We're really excited."

It's an excitement that is also being felt in the community. Activist Gloria Dolson, who worked with Men Standing Strong Together on the renaming project, said the example of Bloneva Bond can inspire students today.

"African-American children don't see themselves in the city of Niagara Falls," Dolson said. "No schools represent African-Americans. A child can relate more to a name than a number of a street. Ms. Bond was a great activist. She loved children and wanted children to be treated fairly. She was very in-tune with the community."

Dolson said she hopes the school district will move to rename other schools after community trailblazers.

Richardson said she just wishes her aunt was still alive to see her story come full circle.

"We are very proud of her," she said. "I just wish she was here to experience it."

The public is invited to attend the renaming celebration at 4 p.m. Tuesday.