Stephen Long-Worcester High Pioneers

The Stephen Long Worcester High Pioneers organization honors the legacy of Professor Stephen Handy Long, Worcester County's first Supervisor of Colored Schools (1914). Professor Long was a fearless champion for justice and education--a man who refused to accept a world that denied Black children the right to learn. With unyielding courage, Long fought to build quality schools and opportunities for those confined by the chains of segregation. His passion for equality carried him into the very heart of the U.S. court system, where he dared to challenge the powerful on behalf of the powerless.

In 1921, Long's pursuit of justice struck a mighty blow against oppression: through the courts, Professor Long compelled a wealthy Worcester County farming family to send two Black orphan boys to school--a victory for dignity and human rights. But that triumph came at a devastating cost. Soon after Maryland's Orphans Court removed the boys from that family's custody, violence met courage in the streets of Pocomoke City. There, before the eyes of his 13-year-old daughter, Professor Stephen Handy Long was brutally stabbed to death by a member of the very family he had challenged.

Professor Stephen Handy Long died as he lived--standing for truth, fighting for justice, and daring to believe that education could liberate a people.