Text of the Historical Marker:

     By 1874, what has been known as the colored school opened in Center School here at Sixth and Washington to serve African-American elementary students of Bloomington. An 1869 law had mandated education of colored children, with a separate enumeration and separate schools supported with tax revenue within the common school system.
     Before 1869, education of African-Americans was generally not within the common school system. The school building on this site was used until 1915, when it was replaced by the Carnegie library. Students attended classes at another site until the new Banneker School opened on the west side December 1915; the school remained segregated until 1951.